Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

The progressive increase in adult obesity is more complicated than we think

Christopher Johnson, MD
Conditions
December 19, 2019
Share
Tweet
Share

All of us are aware of what has been termed our “obesity epidemic.” The current prevalence of obesity among adults in the U.S. is around 40 percent, a dramatic increase over the past 50 years; it was about 15 percent in 1970. Rates are also increasing across first world countries, so we are not alone in this.

Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30. Values of 25 to 30 are termed overweight. BMI is weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared.

The graph shows the trends over the past decades and has some interesting features. Note that the percent of the population that is obese or extremely obese (BMI > 40) has increased, but the percent classified as overweight has not. This suggests to me, although I haven’t seen anything written about it, that overweight and obese patients are two separate groups; the overweight are not destined to become obese. There are even some recent data that suggest being mildly overweight may actually be a good thing as you age.

Many explanations have been offered for the progressive increase in adult obesity, including increased intake of calories, often in the form of soft drinks, and a sedentary lifestyle. The simple calculation of excess calories consumed versus calories burned offers a partial explanation, and certainly, that’s what I was taught in medical school in the 1970s; obesity was simple arithmetic. It turns out things are more complicated than that. Genetics, for example, plays a large role, as do various hormonal systems.

I don’t follow the enormous medical literature on obesity closely, but this recent study really intrigued me. It was in a journal I haven’t seen before, Economics and Human Biology. This seems appropriate since the economic effects of the obesity epidemic are massive and getting larger all the time. The authors studied annual sugar consumption in the U.S. population and compared it with obesity rates later. Now, that approach is pretty reductionist in that it ignores many other kinds of calories that aren’t sugar, but the results are interesting. Their findings suggest that, among today’s adults, obesity correlates with global sugar intake during their childhood years in the 1970s and 1980s. If this is the case, one would predict a decrease in obesity among adolescents and young adults now because sugar intake in the US has decreased by 25 percent in the last decade. In fact, adolescent obesity prevalence, after a steady and seemingly inexorable rise, may actually have plateaued over the past five years or so.

The usual caveat of correlation not indicating causation needs to be kept in mind, of course. Yet it makes biological sense to me. I think our metabolic state could have a certain kind of “memory” about the milieu it experienced during early growth and development and have responded to that in ways that could persist for many years.

Christopher Johnson is a pediatric intensive care physician and author of Keeping Your Kids Out of the Emergency Room: A Guide to Childhood Injuries and Illnesses, Your Critically Ill Child: Life and Death Choices Parents Must Face, How to Talk to Your Child’s Doctor: A Handbook for Parents, and How Your Child Heals: An Inside Look At Common Childhood Ailments. He blogs at his self-titled site, Christopher Johnson, MD.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Tales of an emergency physician, recertifying for the third time

December 19, 2019 Kevin 5
…
Next

Doctors: Always be prepared to suture wounds

December 20, 2019 Kevin 1
…

Tagged as: Obesity

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Tales of an emergency physician, recertifying for the third time
Next Post >
Doctors: Always be prepared to suture wounds

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Christopher Johnson, MD

  • The success of Australian firearms regulation: What it could mean for children

    Christopher Johnson, MD
  • Do protocols and pathways improve care?

    Christopher Johnson, MD
  • Why are so many community hospitals transferring children to larger facilities?

    Christopher Johnson, MD

Related Posts

  • Who’s really to blame for the obesity epidemic?

    Peter Ubel, MD
  • How to increase your HPV vaccination rates

    Elizabeth Copeland, MD
  • What does it mean to be a progressive doctor?

    Surafel Tsega, MD
  • Why cataract surgery is more complicated than it should be

    Brian C. Joondeph, MD
  • Doctors: You can increase voting in the U.S.

    Rio Barrere-Cain
  • Why do we think obesity is caused by lack of exercise and not junk food?

    Martha Rosenberg

More in Conditions

  • Earwax could hold secrets to cancer, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease

    Sandra Vamos, EdD and Domenic Alaimo
  • Why male fertility needs to be part of every health conversation

    Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
  • Why health care must adapt to meet the needs of older adults with disabilities

    Lynn A. Schaefer, PhD
  • 4 traits every new attending physician needs to thrive

    Sarah Epstein
  • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

    Pearl Jones, MD
  • Why local cardiac CT scans could save your life

    Benjamin Cohen, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

      Sandra Johnson | Tech
    • Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

      David Carmouche, MD | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Why shared decision-making in medicine often fails

      M. Bennet Broner, PhD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • The hidden incentives driving frivolous malpractice lawsuits

      Howard Smith, MD | Physician
    • Why what doctors say matters more than you think [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How Mark Twain would dismantle today’s flawed medical AI

      Neil Baum, MD and Mark Ibsen, MD | Tech
    • Mastering medical presentations: Elevating your impact

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Marketing as a clinician isn’t about selling. It’s about trust.

      Kara Pepper, MD | Physician
    • Graduating from medical school without family: a story of strength and survival

      Anonymous | Education

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

      Sandra Johnson | Tech
    • Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

      David Carmouche, MD | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Why shared decision-making in medicine often fails

      M. Bennet Broner, PhD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • The hidden incentives driving frivolous malpractice lawsuits

      Howard Smith, MD | Physician
    • Why what doctors say matters more than you think [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How Mark Twain would dismantle today’s flawed medical AI

      Neil Baum, MD and Mark Ibsen, MD | Tech
    • Mastering medical presentations: Elevating your impact

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Marketing as a clinician isn’t about selling. It’s about trust.

      Kara Pepper, MD | Physician
    • Graduating from medical school without family: a story of strength and survival

      Anonymous | Education

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

The progressive increase in adult obesity is more complicated than we think
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...