The Obesity Epidemic In America Is Getting Worse

March 5, 2002

The latest results of The Harris Poll® on smoking, seatbelt usage and obesity revealed that though Americans are remembering to strap in and not light up, when it comes to the buffet table they can't seem to back off.

Since 1983 Harris Interactive(SM) has surveyed the public to determine how many are overweight and underweight, as well as to track their seatbelt use and smoking behavior. This year The Harris Poll®, conducted between January 16 and 21 via telephone with a nationwide cross-section of 1,011 adults (18+), proved once again that the biggest obstacle Americans face when managing their health is managing their weight. More specifically, the poll found:

• Among people over 25 (the population for which the Metropolitan Life tables were developed) 80% of the public are overweight, up from 58% in 1983, 64% in 1990 and 71% in 1995.
• Fully 33% are now twenty percent overweight, a reasonable measure of obesity, compared to 15% in 1983, 16% in 1990, and 22% in 1995. In other words, obesity has more than doubled from less than one-sixth of the population eighteen years ago to one-third today.
• While the proportion of adults who smoke cigarettes is down to 23% in this survey, this is a decline of only seven points (from 30%) since 1983, and of three points (from 26%) since 1990. Indeed, all the modest changes in the smoking rate, as Harris Interactive has measured it over the last few years, are within the possible sampling error for this survey. So if there has been any reduction in the smoking rate over the last decade, it has been extremely modest.
• 81% of all adults say that they now wear seatbelts when in the front seat of a car. This is a huge increase over the 19% who said this in 1983, the 65% in 1990 and the 73% in 1995. This is perhaps the biggest single success story on public health over the last twenty years. One reason for this huge change was the laws passed in the 1980s by states to mandate seat belt use. It's a powerful example of how legislation, even when weakly enforced as it is in most states, can change both attitudes and behavior very dramatically. Another reason is that - unlike smoking cessation or weight control - seat belt use requires no self-discipline, no sacrifice of gratification and no need to overcome addiction. There is gain without pain.
• Success and failure in attempts to lose weight. Obesity continues to increase even though many people are trying to lose weight and a surprisingly large number claim to have been successful.

This survey found that:

• Most people (60%) say they would like to lose weight, including 72% of those who are overweight (as well as some of those who are not).
• A similar proportion of all adults (58%) say they have made a serious effort to lose weight, including 65% of those who are overweight now (and substantial numbers who are not overweight).
• More than half (57%) of those who say they successfully lost weight say they have managed to stay at more or less the same weight. This represents 28% of all adults. So what? The health impact of obesity
• A recent issue of Issue Focus published by Grantmakers in Health reports that: "According to U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, overweight and obesity may soon cause as much preventable disease and death as cigarette smoking. The conditions are already responsible for as many as 300,000 premature deaths each year and cost the nation $117 billion in 2000 alone.

Excess Pounds, Extra Problems

Obesity is associated with an increased risk for:

• Type 2 diabetes
• Hypertension
• High blood cholesterol
• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Cancer
• Gallbladder diseases
• Asthma
• Osteoarthritis
• Depression
• Complications in pregnancy
• Sleep apnea

While individual body weight has a complex set of causes, most researchers attribute the recent increase in obesity among both adults and children to two simple facts: We are eating more and exercising less. In the 1990s, Americans consumed more food and several hundred more calories per day than they did in the 1970s. Why? Fewer meals were eaten at home, average portion sizes grew, and the availability of convenience foods - foods that are high in fat and sugar - exploded."

Dr. Louis Aronne, clinical associate professor of Medicine at Weill Medical College at Cornell University in New York City and one of the nation's leading obesity experts, believes that if Americans were to focus on lowering their Body Mass Index just a few points the associated health benefits would be enormous. Body mass index, or BMI, is determined by a measurement based on height and weight. It is the most frequent tool doctors use to determine a person's degree of obesity and how it correlates with other health risks.

We're not talking about unrealistic goals, says Dr. Aronne. If Americans were to make the effort to manage their weight using a variety of options, including better nutrition, more exercise, approved medications or even surgical approaches, we would be rewarded with significantly better health.

Smoking, Overweight and Seat Belt Use - Trends 1983 - 2002

Base: All adults over 25

	Smoke Cigarettes(1)	Are Overweight	20% or More Overweight*	Always Wear Seatbelts**
1983 %	30	58	15	19
1984 %	28	56	N/A	27
1985 %	30	62	15	41
1986 %	27	59	N/A	55
1987 %	28	59	15	57
1988 %	26	64	18	60
1989 %	28	61	17	63
1990 %	26	64	16	65
1991 %	25	63	15	69
1992 %	24	66	N/A	70
1993 %	-	-	-	-
1994 %	26	69	N/A	71
1995 %	25	71	22	73
1996 %	24	74	24	75
1997 %	26	72	27	74
1998 %	26	76	28	77
1999 %	24	74	27	77
2000 %	21	79	32	79
2001 %	25	76	32	81
2002 %	23	80	33	81

*Adults over 25 (for weight only).
**When in front seat of car.
N/A= Not available

Notes: Almost all these surveys were conducted in January or February in the years listed.
(1) The 23% of the public who smoke cigarettes does not include others who do not smoke cigarettes but smoke cigars (2%), a pipe (less than 0.5%) or who chew tobacco(1%). In all, according to our latest survey, 26% are exposed to tobacco through smoking or chewing (see Table 2).

Use of Other Types of Tobacco

"Do you smoke a pipe or cigars or use chewing tobacco?"

Base: All adults

	All Adults %	Smoke Cigarettes %	Now Don't Smoke Cigarettes Now %
Pipe	1	2	*
Cigars	4	11	2
Chewing tobacco	1	1	1

Note: Those who use any type of tobacco including cigarettes: 26%. Less than 0.5%.

Would Like To Lose Weight

"Would you like to lose weight, or not?"

Base: All adults

	Total %	Underweight %	Within Range %	Overweight %
Would like	60	12	24	72
Would not	40	88	76	28

How Many Times Have Tried to Lose Weight

"How many times, if ever, in your life have you made a serious effort to lose weight?"

Base: All adults

	Total %	Underweight %	Within Range %	Overweight %
Have ever tried to lose weight (net)	58	27	40	65
Once or twice	28	15	24	29
3 - 5 times	15	11	7	17
More than 5 times	15	2	10	18
Mean (if tried)	8	3	8	9
Median (if tried)	3	2	2	3

The Last Time You Tried to Lose Weight Were You Successful?

"The last time you tried to lose weight were you successful in losing weight, or not?"

Base: Tried to lose weight

	Total %	Underweight %	Within Range %	Overweight %
Successful	85	87	88	86
Not successful	13	13	11	12
Not sure/Refused	2	-	2	3

NOTE: The 85% of those who tried to lose weight who say they successfully did so represents 50% of all adults.

If Succeeded In Losing Weight Have You Managed to Keep It Off?

"Have you managed to stay at more or less the same weight you were then, or have you put most of the weight you lost back on again?"

Base: Was successful in losing weight

	Total %	Underweight %	Within Range %	Overweight %
Managed to stay at (reduced) weight	57	93	78	53
Put most of weight on again	41	7	22	46
Not sure	1	-	-	2

To become a member of the Harris Poll Online, and be invited to participate in future online surveys, visit www.harrispollonline.com.

Methodology Harris Poll® was conducted by telephone within the United States between January 16-21, 2002 among a nationwide cross section of 1,011 adults. Figures for age, sex, race, education, number of adults and number of voice/telephone lines in the household were weighted where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population. In theory, with a probability sample of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire adult population had been polled with complete accuracy.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

About Harris Interactive(SM). Harris Interactive is a worldwide market research and consulting firm, best known for The Harris Poll® and its pioneering use of the Internet to conduct scientifically accurate market research. Strengthened by its recent merger with Total Research Corporation, the Company now combines the power of technology with international expertise in predictive, custom, and strategic research. Headquartered in the United States, with offices in the United Kingdom, Japan and a global network of local market and opinion research firms, the Company conducts international research with fluency in multiple languages.