Research Results on Obesity and Physical Activity Rates and Other Findings

(Other findings include active screen time and sitting)

Active Living Researchwww.activelivingresearch.org

A national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Any of the slides contained in this set are available for public use. If you have comments or questions about a particular slide, please contact Debbie Lou at dlou@projects.sdsu.edu

Disparities in leisure time physical activity

20%22%

28%30%

36%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

White AsianAmerican

NativeAmerican

AfricanAmerican

Hispanic% r

epor

ting

no le

isur

e tim

e ac

tivity

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Trends in leisure-time physical inactivity by age, sex, and race/ethnicity—United States, 1994-2004. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2005; 54(39):991-994.

Data from the national BRFSS survey show racial-ethnic minority groups are less likely to be physically active than Whites. Rates of physical inactivity are highest among African Americans and Hispanics.

Self-reported PA levels collected in 2002 from 764 adults ages 50 to 80+ living in a Canadian city are related to multiple environmental attributes.

* PA measured by PASE (Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly) includes activities commonly engaged in by elderly people, including gardening, housework, and caring for others, in addition to walking and other leisure activities.

Older adults report significantly higher average physical activity levels when certain neighborhood built environment amenities are present

9790

117 122 120112

132118

134118 124

10610610510699103106

020406080

100120140160

Hills

Biking l

anes/trails

Walking/

hiking trails

Street li

ghts

Golf course

s

Public parks

Skating r

inks

Swim

ming pools

Tennis co

urts

Absence or presence of environmental characteristics

Aver

age

PASE

sco

re

Absent

Present

Chad KE, Reeder BA, et al. Profile of physical activity levels in community-dwelling older adults. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise 2005; 37:1774-1784.

Increase in percentage of children and youth ages 2 to 19 who are obese since the 1970s

6% 6%

15%

17%

5%

19%

0%2%4%6%8%

10%12%14%16%18%20%

All children African American Low income

% o

bes

e

1971-1974

1999-2002

Anderson PM, Butcher KF. Childhood obesity: Trends and potential causes. The Future of Children: Childhood Obesity 2006; 16 (1): 19-46.

Since the 1970s, the percentage of children and youth ages 2 to 19 years who are obese has tripled. The increase is greatest among African-American and Low-income children.

Percentage of children who report being active for 60 minutes five days a week

30%

47%

21%

38%

27%

39%

24%

40%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

Girls Boys.

WhiteAfrican AmericanHispanicOther

Eaton DK, Kann L, Kinchen S, et al. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance-United States, 2005. Surveillance Summaries, [June 9]. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2006; 55(SS-5), 1–108.

The Surgeon General recommends that children engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week. Yet, according to 2006 estimates, nearly 2/3 of adolescents do not meet this recommendation, based on self-reports.

Children can burn up to 90 calories per hour during active screen time

Sedentary Screen Time

Dance Dance Revolution

0102030405060708090

100

Cal

ori

es

12 calories per hour90 calories per hour

Lanningham-Foster L, Jensen TB, et al. Energy expenditure of sedentary screen time compared with active screen time for children. Pediatrics 2006; 118(6):1831-1835.

Children who play video games that require physical activity can burn up to eight times as many calories as children who engage in sedentary screen time. For example, one study found that children burned 90 calories more per hour while playing Dance Dance Revolution than did children who played inactive video games.

A 2006 cross-sectional national study of 8th and 10th grade students* (N=39,011)found more black and Hispanic youth being overweight than white youth at most every socioeconomic (SES) level. Frequent exercise was associated with a lower likelihood of being overweight for all groups.

*Based on self-reported data from the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future Project

** Defined as being at or above the 85th percentile

Delva J, Johnston LD, O’Malley PM. The epidemiology of overweight and related lifestyle behaviors: Racial/ethnic and socioeconomic status differences among American youth. American Journal Preventive Medicine 2007;33(4S): S178-S186.

1

1.4

2.1

1.2

2.7

2

1.5

2.6

0.8

1

1.5

1.7

1.41.5

1.3

1.6

2.1 2.1

0.9

2.14

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

White ofhigh SES

(referent)

White ofmid SES

White oflow SES

Black ofhigh SES

Black of midSES

Black of lowSES

Hispanic ofhigh SES

Hispanic ofmid SES

Hispanic oflow SES

Frequentexercise

Lik

elih

oo

d o

f b

ein

g o

verw

eig

ht

(O

dd

s ra

tio

s)

Girls

Boys

referent

Increase in percentage of adults ages 20+ who are obese since the 1970s [Based on NHANES data]

15%

23%

31%34%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

1976-1980 1988-1994 1999-2000 2005-2006

% o

be

se

Ogden CL, Carroll MD, McDowell MA, Flegal KM. Obesity among adults in the United States— no change since 2003–2004. NCHS data brief no 1. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2007. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db01.pdff

Prevalence of obesity (BMI>30) in 18-26 year olds, by race-ethnicity.

Add Health Study, 2001-2002

1922 22 21

41

21

34

26

9

28

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

White Black Hispanic AsianAmerican

NativeAmerican

% o

bese

Men

Women

Wang Y, Beydoun MA. The obesity epidemic in the United States—gender, age, socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, and geographic characteristics: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis. Epidemiologic Reviews 2007; 29(1):6-28.

Data from the 2001-2002 Add Health Study show rates of overweight and obesity are highest among women, Native American, Hispanic, and African-American populations.

Troiano RP, Berrigan D, et al. Physical activity in the United States measured by accelerometer. Medicine & Science In Sports & Exercise 2008; 40(1):181-188.

Percentage of youth ages 6-19 meeting 60 min/day physical activity guidelines.

Based on accelerometers. NHANES 2003-4

49%

10% 10%

35%

3.4%5.4%

0%

20%

40%

60%

6-11 12-15 16-19Age

Males

Females

NHANES data from 2003-2004 show the percentage of youth ages 6 to 19 meeting recommended physical activity guidelines declines significantly with age.

Deaths attributable to individual risks (thousands) in both sexes

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500

Low dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids

Low intake of fruits and vegetables

Alcohol use

High dietary trans fatty acids

Low dietary omega-3 fatty acids

High dietary salt

High LDL cholesterol

High blood glucose

Physical inactivity

Overweight-obesity (high BMI)

High blood pressure

Tobacco smoking

Danaei G, Ding EL, Mozafarrian D, et al. The preventable causes of death in the United States: Comparative risk assessment of dietary, lifestyle, and metabolic risk factors. PLoS Medicine 2009; 6(4): http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000058

A study of children (N=333 from the Iowa Bone Development Study) found that children who were most active* at age 5 had significantly lower fat mass at age 8 and age 11 than children who were the least active at age 5.

3.8

7.8

12.5

4.5

8.7

14

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Age 5 Age 8 Age 11

Fa

t m

as

s (

kg

)

Most Active

Least Active

*Minutes per day spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) measured with accelerometers

Janz KF, Kwon S, Letuchy EM, et al. Sustained effect of early physical activity on body fat mass in older children. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2009; 37(1):35-40.

A Canadian study (N=17,013) found that people who spend more time sitting are at higher risk for mortality from all causes

1 11.11

1.36

1.54

0.5

1

1.5

2

Referent(almostnone)

Onefourth

Half Threefourths

Almostall

Amount of time sitting per day

Ris

k o

f a

ll-c

au

se

mo

rta

lity

(o

dd

s r

ati

o)

Katzmarzyk PT, Church TS, Craig CL, et al. Sitting time and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 2009: 998-1005.

Adult Obesity Rates and Trends, 2009

Adult obesity rates continued to rise in 23 states. Rates did not decrease in any state.

Thirty-one states have adult obesity rates above 25%.

In Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, and Tennessee, adult obesity rates are above 30%.

Trust for America’s Health. F as in Fat 2009: How obesity policies are failing America, July 2009. http://healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2009/http://healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2009/

Data from the 2000 to 2003 National Health Interview Survey reveal that all Hispanic groups were more likely to have no leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) than non-Hispanic Whites, and that there are significant differences in levels of no activity among Hispanic sub-groups.

Prevalence of no LTPA among Hispanic sub-groups, 2000-2003

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

White PuertoRican

Mexican MexicanAmerican

Cuban Dominican Central orSouth

American

Per

cen

tag

e o

f p

op

ula

tio

n w

ith

no

LT

PA

Neighbors C, Marquez D, Marcus B. Leisure-time physical activity disparities among Hispanic subgroups in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 2008; 98(8): 1460-1464.

Church TS et al. Trends over 5 Decades in U.S. Occupation-Related Physical Activity and Their Associations with Obesity. PLoS ONE 2011; 6(5):e19657.

Reduction in Calories Burned at Work is Related to Increase in Obesity since the 1960s

A national study examined the relationship between the prevalence of obesity and reductions in calories burned during work from 1960 to 2006. The study predicted that, given a baseline weight of 76.9 kg in 1960-62 for men, a drop of 142 calories would result in an increase in average weight to 89.7 kg, which closely matched the actual average weight (according to NHANES data) of 91.8 kg in 2003-06. The results were similar for women.