Life expectancy on the rise, but obesity rates climbing in America

 Life expectancy on the rise, but obesity rates climbing in America

Life expectancy rates are on the rise in the United States but obesity levels are still climbing, a new report says.On the positive side, life expectancy was up slightly in 2007, to 77.9 years from 76.8 years at the beginning of the decade.

And while women are still ahead of the game, gender and race gaps in longevity have narrowed, according to the report compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics.

But health experts are troubled by climbing obesity rates: Two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese, up from 29.9 percent a decade ago.

While obesity rates among 2- to 5-year-olds seem to be leveling off, rates among older children and teens are still increasing, the report showed.

“The overall trend for childhood obesity is upward, which is not a good sign for future obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer,” said Cheryl L. Perry of the University of Texas School of Public Health.

“There may be some hope for the younger children, but it’s probably too soon to declare victory, since the 6- to 11-year-old rates also declined, but then increased substantially in the next wave,” Perry said.

The report also found:

The good

† Cholesterol levels are coming under control, probably because a quarter of U.S. adults 45 and over use the cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins, a dramatic increase from just 2 percent in the 1988-1994 period.

† Fewer kids are uninsured: only 8 percent, compared with 12 percent a decade earlier.

† 18.8 percent report exercising, a marginal uptick from 18.1 percent in 2008.

† Infant mortality has declined 2 percent from 2000.

† Half of middle-age and older Americans are getting colonoscopies regularly, up from one-third in 2000.

† The smoking rate among adults has largely stabilized at about 21 percent, while smoking among teens has essentially stalled at 20 percent since 2004.

The bad

† Heart disease and cancer remain the two leading killers, collectively accounting for nearly half of the 2.5 million deaths in the United States in 2007, 25 percent and 23 percent, respectively.

† Hypertension levels are on the rise, with 32.6 percent of the population suffering from high blood pressure in 2007-2008 compared with 28.9 percent in 1999-2000.

† Twelve percent of U.S. adults are diabetic, up from 8.5 percent in 1999.

† More Americans than ever before are delaying or foregoing medical care: 11 percent in 1997 compared with 15 percent in 2009. People skimping on prescription drugs went from 6 percent to 11 percent.

† Those missing out on needed dental care increased from 11 percent to 17 percent.

† More children have skin allergies, 10.7 percent compared with 7.4 percent in the late 1990s; attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, 9 percent vs. 6.5 percent, and food allergies, 4.6 percent, up from 3.4 percent).

Gannett News Service

source : http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/health/3872505-423/life-expectancy-on-the-rise-but-obesity-rates-climbing-in-america.html