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Indicator: Prevalence of Overweight & Obese Adults

Data and Data Discussion provided by Communities Count

Figure 1: Percent of Overweight and Obese Adults

Figure 2: Overweight and Obese Adults, Three-Year Averages

Figure 3: Obese Adults by Age, Race/Ethnicity, Income and Education

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Upstream Indicators
  •   Acres of Urban Parks and Open Space --- Following a dip in the late 1990's, there has been an increase in urban parks and open space acreage per King County resident over the last 10 years. In 2006, the urban area of King County had about 15 acres of park or open space for every thousand residents, a slight decrease from 2005.   (view data graph)
  •   Adequate Food --- Compared to 2003, fewer adults (6.8% of the population) in 2007 reported that household food money often or sometimes did not last. Fewer people in East Region said their household food money often or sometimes did not last compared to Seattle, South Region or King County as a whole.  (view data graph)
  •   Physical Activity --- On average, for years 2003, 2005 and 2006, 55.4% of King County adults reported meeting the recommended level of physical activity. Since 2001, the percent of adults meeting physical activity recommendations has not changed. Only 39.1% of youth in grades 8, 10 and 12 meet the recommended level of physical acitivity.   (view data graph)
  •   Walkability Index --- In 2005, King County finished a major study called “Land Use, Transportation, Air Quality and Health” (which led to the current program HealthScape), that measured how specific land use and transportation actions affect air quality, mobility, congestion, and public health. No trend data are yet available.   (view data graph)
  •   Income Distribution --- In the two decades between 1979 and 2007, income has shifted from the four lower income groups to the highest income group.   (view data graph)
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Downstream Indicators
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Related Goals

Being overweight or obese increases the risk of many diseases and health problems. Walkability, one key element of liveable communities, promotes fitness. Responsible land use includes planning communities to ensures there are facilities to maintain a healthy lifestyle such as health food shops, walkable streets and exercise facilities such as parks and gyms.

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Sustainability Snapshot:

Inactivity and overeating generally lead people to become overweight. A reliance on calorie-laden fast and processed foods also contribute. Daily schedules do not make time to prepare healthier meals, and portion sizes, in the home and out, have drastically increased. Being overweight or obese increases the risk of many diseases and health conditions including hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, and coronary heart disease.

Sustainability Trend:

The proportion of King County adults who are overweight and obese continues to climb. • The combined percent of overweight and obese adults has increased in each of the four regions of King County since 1994.

Data Discussion

The Indicator Defined

Percent of Adults Age 18+ Who Are Overweight or Obese, King County. Overweight is defined as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) that is greater than or equal to 25 and less than 30, and obese is a BMI of 30 or more. The BMI is the ratio of weight to height.

Data Interpretation/Evaluation

Overweight is defined as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) that is greater than or equal to 25 and less than 30, and obese is a BMI of 30 or more. The BMI is the ratio of weight to height. Over the last 20 years, the proportion of King County adults who were either overweight or obese has increased to 55.5% in 2007. In 2007, the combined percent of overweight and obese adults in Washington State was 62.1% and 63.0% in the nation (data not shown).

The percent of King County adults who are obese continues to increase while the percent of overweight adults has remained level in the past 10 years. In 1997, 34.4% of adults were overweight and 12.6% were obese. In 2007, the percent of overweight adults was unchanged (34.3%), but the percent of obese adults had risen to 21.2%.

The combined percent of overweight and obese adults has increased in each of the four regions since 1994, the first year of data available by region (data not shown). From 2005-2007, 34.6% of King County adults were overweight and 20.0% were obese. The proportion of adults who were obese in North Region and East Region was similar to King County. Obesity rates were highest in South Region—higher than each of the other regions and King County as a whole. Seattle had the lowest percentage of obese adults.

Obesity rates in King County increased with age until age 65 when the rate declined. African Americans and American Indian/Alaska Natives were more likely to be obese than whites and Asians. Asians were least likely to be obese. Obesity rates among Hispanic/Latinos was similar to whites. Averaging data over 2005-2007, those in the highest income category were less likely to be obese than those earning less income, although this difference was not statistically significant in each case. While other research has shown a strong association between lower incomes and higher obesity rates, this correlation is not seen in King County. Significant differences in obesity rates by income group are not consistent over time in King County. Persons with the highest educational achievement(college graduates) were less likely to be obese. Local data by gender are not reported here. While national survey data that are based on physical measurement indicate that adult men are more likely to be overweight or obese than women, local survey data are based on self-reporting only and result
in underestimations of weight.

Data Source and Limitations

Data on adult physical activity and weight was contributed by Communities Count (www.communitiescount.org) and are based on data from the Washington State and national Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). The BRFSS is a random telephone interview survey of non-institutionalized adults age 18 and older that has been conducted in King County every year since 1987.

 

The limitations of an English-only telephone survey include the following: a) people who do not have a telephone are missed, b) people who do not speak English do not participate, c) people who have less education and lower incomes tend to be underrepresented.

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