Overweight and obesity have reached epidemic proportions among Americans and result in an enormous toll of death, disease, disability, and reduced quality of life. 

• Facts
  
• Resources
  

FACTS
The CDC estimates that obesity is associated with 112,000 deaths each year.  People who are overweight or obese are at increased risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, respiratory problems, reproductive complications, and depression.  Poor diet and physical inactivity are major causes of overweight and obesity. 

• 65% of adults are overweight or obese.  This compares to 47% of adults who were overweight or obese in 1980.

•  Among youths aged 12–19 years, the prevalence of overweight more than tripled between 1980 and 2002, increasing from 5 percent to 16 percent.

• Estimates of the health care and other costs in 2004 dollars related to overweight and obesity range from $98 billion to $129 billion.

• The average annual health care costs for adults who are obese are 36% higher than for normal weight individuals.

RESOURCES 

• Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (2008) — National guidelines describing the type and amount of physical activity recommended for Americans.
  
  

• Childhood Obesity: What Congress Can Do (2008) — Testimony submitted to the Senate Subcommittee on Children & Families. Partnership highlights actions that the Subcommittee and Congress can take to reduce childhood obesity and calls for federal leadership. 
   

• Action Guides to Increase Physical Activity (2008) — These three Action Guides, part of The Community Health Promotion Handbook: Action Guides to Improve Community Health, promote physical activity by developing a community trail, establishing a community-based walking group program, and working with schools to enhance physical education classes.

• Places for Physical Activity: Facilitating Development of a Community Trail and Promoting Its Use to Increase Physical Activity Among Youth and Adults—An Action Guide
  

• School-Based Physical Education: Working with Schools to Increase Physical Activity Among Children and Adolescents in Physical Education Classes—An Action Guide
  

• Social Support for Physical Activity: Establishing a Community-Based Walking Group to Increase Physical Activity Among Youth and Adults—An Action Guide
  
• (To see a similar guide for establishing a community-based diabetes self-management education program, click here)
  
  

• Screening for Obesity (2006) — Partnership has posted extensive details about the health impact and cost effectiveness of obesity screening and other effective clinical preventive services on the home page for our 2006 report, Priorities for America's Health: Capitalizing on Life-Saving, Cost-Effective Preventive Services.   

• Straight Talk about Obesity and Health (2005) — A fact sheet describing the scope, health impact, and economic impact of the epidemic of overweight and obesity.   
               
• Questions and Answers about the Number of Obesity-Related Deaths (2005) — A fact sheet that answers questions about the number of obesity-related deaths and about the health impact of being overweight but not obese.
  
  
• Comprehensive and Integrated Chronic Disease Prevention Action Planning Handbook and Case Studies (2005) — Guide for states and communities to develop and implement evidence-based, integrated chronic disease prevention programs. 
  
  
• Take Action to Prevent Chronic Diseases (2005) — Seven recommendations to public health officials and policymakers on actions to improve health among Americans and to reduce health care costs associated with chronic diseases.    
    
  
• Health Policy Priorities for States (2005) — Summaries of evidence supporting eight policies.

Active Aging Resources:

• Creating Communities for Active Aging (2001) — A guide for encouraging older adults to walk and bike.

• From the Field: Four Communities Implement Active Aging Programs (2002) — Provides examples of community programs and guidance on how communities can evaluate these efforts.
  

• Program Evaluation: Measuring the Impact of Active Aging Programs (2002) — Offers a step-by-step approach to evaluation that communities can apply to their own programs.