key facts about the obesity epidemic facing the United States:
ADULTS
The United States has the highest prevalence of obesity among developed nations, at about one-third of the adult population, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Body mass index, or BMI, a measure based on weight in relation to height, is commonly used to classify the overweight and obese. About 60 million adults are obese, defined by a body mass index of 30 or greater, according to the CDC. Two decades ago, about 15 percent of adults were obese.
CHILDREN
The percentage of overweight young people has more than tripled since 1980, according to the CDC. More than 9 million children and teens ages 6 to 19 years are considered overweight. About 15.5 percent of adolescents, ages 12 to 19, and 15.3 percent of children, ages 6 to 11, are obese.
TREATMENT -- PHARMACEUTICALS
The two most common drugs used for obesity are Abbott Laboratories' (ABT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Meridia and Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX: Quote, Profile, Research)'s Xenical, but the success rates are not high, according to doctors. Diets alone have a very high failure rate.
TREATMENT -- SURGERY
The two most common types of surgery to treat obesity -- called bariatric surgery -- are gastric bypass, which diverts food from the stomach, and gastric banding, which uses an adjustable band to restrict the stomach's size. Bariatric surgery may work by limiting food intake, slowing digestion and/or hindering absorption.
The number of bariatric surgeries performed each year has quadrupled since 2000, according to the American Society of Bariatric Surgery. About 171,000 procedures were done in 2005, according to the group. About 1 million procedures have been performed worldwide.
ECONOMIC COSTS
Medical spending attributable to obesity treatment ranges from $27 billion to $48 billion, according to the CDC. About half of those costs are paid by government health programs like the Medicare health plan for the elderly; the rest is shouldered by employers and patients.
SURGERY SAFETY
A U.S. government report in July found that the rate of complications increases significantly six months after bariatic surgery, with 40 percent of patients experiencing side effects such as intestinal leaks, ulcers and hernias.
The complication rate was 22 percent among patients still in the hospital following surgery, but rose to about 40 percent after six months.
The mortality rate six months out was relatively low at 0.2 percent, according the study of 2,522 bariatric procedures analyzed by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
SURGERY COSTS
But greater complications tack on costs to obesity surgeries. Spending on the surgery averaged about $25,000 per case without complications. That price jumps to $36,000 with a complication and $65,000 if a patient is readmitted to the hospital.
About 7.2 percent of patients in the government study were re-hospitalized.
Obesity Facts
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