Research Results on Obesity and Physical
Activity Rates and Other Findings
(Other findings include active screen time and sitting)
Active Living Research
www.activelivingresearch.org
A national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Any of the slides contained in this set are available for public use. If you have comments or
questions about a particular slide, please contact Debbie Lou at dlou@projects.sdsu.edu
Data from the national BRFSS survey show racial-ethnic minority groups are less
likely to be physically active than Whites. Rates of physical inactivity are highest
among African Americans and Hispanics.
% reporting no leisure time activity
Disparities in leisure time physical activity
40%
36%
35%
28%
30%
25%
20%
30%
22%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
White
Asian
American
Native
American
African
American
Hispanic
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Trends in leisure-time physical inactivity by age, sex, and race/ethnicity—United States, 19942004. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2005; 54(39):991-994.
Self-reported PA levels collected in 2002 from 764 adults ages 50 to 80+ living in a Canadian
city are related to multiple environmental attributes.
Average PASE score
Older adults report significantly higher average physical activity levels when
certain neighborhood built environment amenities are present
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
117
106
103
134
132
122
120
99
112
106
97
118
105
124
118
106
106
90
Absent
Present
Absence or presence of environmental characteristics
* PA measured by PASE (Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly) includes activities commonly engaged in by elderly people, including
gardening, housework, and caring for others, in addition to walking and other leisure activities.
Chad KE, Reeder BA, et al. Profile of physical activity levels in community-dwelling older adults. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise
2005; 37:1774-1784.
Since the 1970s, the percentage of children and youth ages 2 to 19 years
who are obese has tripled. The increase is greatest among African-American
and Low-income children.
% obese
Increase in percentage of children and youth
ages 2 to 19 who are obese since the 1970s
20%
18%
16%
14%
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
19%
17%
15%
5%
All children
6%
African American
1971-1974
1999-2002
6%
Low income
Anderson PM, Butcher KF. Childhood obesity: Trends and potential causes. The Future of Children: Childhood Obesity 2006; 16 (1): 19-46.
The Surgeon General recommends that children engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate physical
activity most days of the week. Yet, according to 2006 estimates, nearly 2/3 of adolescents do not
meet this recommendation, based on self-reports.
Percentage of children who report being active for 60 minutes
five days a week
50%
45%
40%
White
African American
Hispanic
Other
47%
38%
39%
40%
35%
30%
30%
27%
24%
25%
21%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Girls
Boys
.
Eaton DK, Kann L, Kinchen S, et al. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance-United States, 2005. Surveillance Summaries, [June 9]. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Report 2006; 55(SS-5), 1–108.
Children who play video games that require physical activity can burn up to eight times as many calories
as children who engage in sedentary screen time. For example, one study found that children burned
90 calories more per hour while playing Dance Dance Revolution than did children who played inactive
video games.
Calories
Children can burn up to 90 calories per hour during
active screen time
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
12 calories per hour
90 calories per hour
Sedentary
Screen Time
Dance Dance
Revolution
Lanningham-Foster L, Jensen TB, et al. Energy expenditure of sedentary screen time compared with active screen time for children.
Pediatrics 2006; 118(6):1831-1835.
A 2006 cross-sectional national study of 8th and 10th grade students* (N=39,011)
found more black and Hispanic youth being overweight than white youth at most every socioeconomic (SES)
level. Frequent exercise was associated with a lower likelihood of being overweight for all groups.
3
2.7
Girls
2.6
Likelihood of being overweight
(Odds ratios)
2.5
Boys
2.1
2
1.7
1.5
1.4
1.6
1.5
1.4
1.2
referent
1
2.1 2.1
2
2.14
1.5
1.5
1.3
1 1
0.8
0.9
0.5
0
White of
high SES
(referent)
White of
m id SES
White of
low SES
Black of
high SES
Black of m id Black of low Hispanic of
SES
SES
high SES
Hispanic of
m id SES
Hispanic of
low SES
*Based on self-reported data from the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future Project
** Defined as being at or above the 85th percentile
Delva J, Johnston LD, O’Malley PM. The epidemiology of overweight and related lifestyle behaviors: Racial/ethnic and socioeconomic
status differences among American youth. American Journal Preventive Medicine 2007;33(4S): S178-S186.
Frequent
exercise
Increase in percentage of adults ages 20+ who are obese since
the 1970s [Based on NHANES data]
40%
34%
35%
31%
% obese
30%
23%
25%
20%
15%
15%
10%
5%
0%
1976-1980
1988-1994
1999-2000
2005-2006
Ogden CL, Carroll MD, McDowell MA, Flegal KM. Obesity among adults in the United States— no change since 2003–2004.
NCHS data brief no 1. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2007.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db01.pdf
f
Data from the 2001-2002 Add Health Study show rates of overweight and
obesity are highest among women, Native American, Hispanic, and AfricanAmerican populations.
Prevalence of obesity (BMI>30) in 18-26 year olds, by race-ethnicity.
Add Health Study, 2001-2002
50%
41
40%
Men
Women
% obese
34
30%
20%
19 21
22
28
26
22
21
9
10%
0%
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Native
American American
Wang Y, Beydoun MA. The obesity epidemic in the United States—gender, age, socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, and geographic characteristics:
a systematic review and meta-regression analysis. Epidemiologic Reviews 2007; 29(1):6-28.
NHANES data from 2003-2004 show the percentage of youth ages 6 to 19 meeting recommended physical
activity guidelines declines significantly with age.
Percentage of youth ages 6-19 meeting 60 min/day
physical activity guidelines.
Based on accelerometers. NHANES 2003-4
60%
49%
Males
Females
40%
35%
20%
10%
10%
3.4%
5.4%
0%
6-11
12-15
16-19
Age
Troiano RP, Berrigan D, et al. Physical activity in the United States measured by accelerometer. Medicine & Science In Sports & Exercise 2008;
40(1):181-188.
Deaths attributable to individual risks (thousands) in both
sexes
Tobacco smoking
High blood pressure
Overweight-obesity (high BMI)
Physical inactivity
High blood glucose
High LDL cholesterol
High dietary salt
Low dietary omega-3 fatty acids
High dietary trans fatty acids
Alcohol use
Low intake of fruits and vegetables
Low dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids
0
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Danaei G, Ding EL, Mozafarrian D, et al. The preventable causes of death in the United States: Comparative risk assessment of dietary, lifestyle, and
metabolic risk factors. PLoS Medicine 2009; 6(4): http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000058
A study of children (N=333 from the Iowa Bone Development Study) found
that children who were most active* at age 5 had significantly lower fat
mass at age 8 and age 11 than children who were the least active at age 5.
16
14
14
12.5
Fat mass (kg)
12
10
8.7
7.8
8
Least Active
6
4
Most Active
3.8
4.5
2
0
Age 5
Age 8
Age 11
*Minutes per day spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) measured with accelerometers
Janz KF, Kwon S, Letuchy EM, et al. Sustained effect of early physical activity on body fat mass in older children. American Journal of
Preventive Medicine, 2009; 37(1):35-40.
Risk of all-cause mortality (odds ratio)
A Canadian study (N=17,013) found that people who spend more time
sitting are at higher risk for mortality from all causes
2
1.54
1.5
1.36
1.11
1
1
1
0.5
Referent One
(almost fourth
none)
Half
Three
fourths
Almost
all
Amount of time sitting per day
Katzmarzyk PT, Church TS, Craig CL, et al. Sitting time and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Medicine and Science in Sports and
Exercise, 2009: 998-1005.
Adult Obesity Rates and Trends, 2009
Adult obesity rates continued to rise in 23 states. Rates did not decrease in any
state.
Thirty-one states have adult obesity rates above 25%.
In Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, and Tennessee, adult obesity rates are
above 30%.
Trust for America’s Health. F as in Fat 2009: How obesity policies are failing America, July 2009.
http://healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2009/
http://healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2009/
Data from the 2000 to 2003 National Health Interview Survey reveal that all Hispanic groups were more likely
to have no leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) than non-Hispanic Whites, and that there are significant
differences in levels of no activity among Hispanic sub-groups.
Prevalence of no LTPA among
Hispanic sub-groups, 2000-2003
Percentage of population with no LTPA
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
White
Puerto
Rican
Mexican
Mexican
Am erican
Cuban
Dom inican
Central or
South
Am erican
Neighbors C, Marquez D, Marcus B. Leisure-time physical activity disparities among Hispanic subgroups in the United States. American
Journal of Public Health, 2008; 98(8): 1460-1464.
Reduction in Calories Burned at Work is Related to Increase in Obesity since the 1960s
A national study examined the relationship between the prevalence of obesity and reductions in calories
burned during work from 1960 to 2006. The study predicted that, given a baseline weight of 76.9 kg in
1960-62 for men, a drop of 142 calories would result in an increase in average weight to 89.7 kg, which
closely matched the actual average weight (according to NHANES data) of 91.8 kg in 2003-06. The results
were similar for women.
Church TS et al. Trends over 5 Decades in U.S. Occupation-Related Physical Activity and Their Associations with Obesity. PLoS ONE 2011; 6(5):e19657.