VOA健康报道2024--Severe Obesity Increases in US

Body weight continues to be a big public health issue in the United States. New government research suggests that the condition of having far too much fat stored in the body - severe obesity¹ - has increased greatly over the past ten years.

The U.S. obesity rate is about 40 percent, says a 2021-2023 study of about 6,000 people. Almost one in 10 of those questioned reported severe obesity, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found. Women were nearly two times as likely as men to report severe obesity.

The overall obesity rate appeared to decrease in comparison to the 2017-2020 survey. But the change was not considered statistically² meaningful. In other words, the numbers are small enough that there is a mathematical chance the rates did not truly drop.

Dr. Samuel Emmerich is the CDC public health officer who led the latest study. He said it is too soon to know whether new treatments for obesity, including weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy and Zepbound, can help ease the disease.

"We simply can't see down to that detailed³ level to prescription⁴ medication use and compare that to changes in obesity prevalence," Emmerich said. He added, "Hopefully that is something we can see in the future."

The results show that the overall obesity rate in the U.S. has not changed much in ten years. The rate of severe obesity climbed from almost eight percent in the 2013-2014 study to almost 10 percent in the most recent one.

Before that, obesity had increased quickly in the U.S. since the 1990s, federal studies showed.

Measures of obesity and severe obesity are based on the body mass index (BMI), a computation involving height and weight. People with a BMI of 30 are considered obese⁵. Those with a BMI of 40 or higher have severe obesity.

Solveig Cunningham is an Emory University global health professor who specializes in obesity.

Cunningham said, "Seeing increases in severe obesity is even more alarming because that's the level of obesity that's most highly associated with some of the highest levels of cardiovascular disease and diabetes⁶ and lower quality of life."

Cunningham, who was not involved in the new study, said it is not clear why rates of severe obesity are going up. Cunningham also said it is not clear why severe obesity rates were higher among women.

Reasons could include the effects of hormones⁷, the effects of childbearing or other causes that require further study, she said.

The new study also found that obesity rates varied⁸ by education. Almost 32 percent of people with a bachelor's degree or higher reported having obesity. In comparison, about 45 percent of those with some college or less had obesity.

The new report follows the release earlier this month of data from U.S. states and territories that showed that in 2023, the rate of obesity differed widely by place.

The highest obesity levels were in West Virginia. Around 41 percent of adults in the state are obese.

The lowest levels were in Washington, D.C., with less than 24 percent of adults being obese.

Obesity rates were highest in the Midwest and the South.

All U.S. states and territories had obesity rates higher than 20 percent. In 23 states, more than 1 in 3 adults had obesity, the data showed. Before 2013, no state had a rate that high, said Dr. Alyson Goodman, who leads a CDC team focused on population health.

Color-coded maps show the obesity rates across the U.S.

"Sometimes, when you look at all that red, it's really discouraging," Goodman said.

But, she added, recent attention on understanding obesity as a metabolic⁹ disease and new drug treatments give her hope.

Preventing obesity is most important, Cunningham said, starting in early childhood. And for people already dealing¹⁰ with obesity, preventing additional weight gain should be the goal.

Words in This Story

statistically - adv. of or relating to the principles of statistics

prescription - n. a written direction for a therapeutic¹¹ or corrective agent

prevalence - n. the percentage of a population that is affected¹² with a particular disease at a given time

cardiovascular - adj. of, relating to, or involving the heart and blood vessels¹³

diabetes - n. a variable disorder of carbohydrate metabolism

1 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

2 statistically   

ad.根据统计数据来看，从统计学的观点来看

参考例句：

• The sample of building permits is larger and therefore, statistically satisfying. 建筑许可数的样本比较大，所以统计数据更令人满意。
• The results of each test would have to be statistically independent. 每次试验的结果在统计上必须是独立的。

3 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

4 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

5 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。

6 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

7 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

8 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

9 metabolic   

adj.新陈代谢的

参考例句：

• Impressive metabolic alternations have been undergone during embryogenesis.在胚胎发生期间经历了深刻的代谢变化。
• A number of intoxicants are associated with metabolic acidosis.许多毒性物质可引起代谢性酸中毒。

10 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

11 therapeutic   

adj.治疗的，起治疗作用的；对身心健康有益的

参考例句：

• Therapeutic measures were selected to fit the patient.选择治疗措施以适应病人的需要。
• When I was sad,music had a therapeutic effect.我悲伤的时候，音乐有治疗效力。

12 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

13 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》