The lead author,
Majid Ezzati, who is the Associate Professor of International Health at
HSPH, and along with his colleagues compared the data from the telephone
interview and the in-person surveys.
The researchers
discovered that women and men report differently their weights and
heights when interviewed on the telephone. Women tend to report a
weight that is less than her actual when surveyed on the telephone. Men
tended to answer the weight question on the telephone with an accurate
number. Men that are ranging in age to young to middle age had a
tendency to say they were taller than there actual height. Women
reported accurate height measurements.
Recalculating the
data to adjust for the telephone data, the researchers estimate that the
actual national obesity statistics for 2002 should be 28.7% for adult
men and 34.5% for adult women. This is corrected more than 50% higher
than the previous calculations.
The states that
faced with the largest obesity problem are the Southern states. Based
on the corrected researcher’s statistics for the year of 2000 the
highest obesity levels for men are as follows:
Highest Rates with
Obesity in Men
Texas
31%
Mississippi 30%
Highest Rates of
Obesity in Women
Texas
37%
Louisiana 37%
Mississippi 37%
District of Columbia 37%
Alabama 37%
South Carolina 36%
Lowest Rates of Obesity in Men
Colorado
18%
District of Columbia 21%
Montana 21%
Lowest Rates of Obesity in Women
Colorado
24%
Montana 25%
Massachusetts 27%
By correcting the
data, the researchers discovered that the Southern states have the
highest rates of obesity in the US.
"The results show
that there are clear geographical patterns of obesity," said Ezzati.
"Using this data, national and state public health institutions can
better target resources and programs toward combating the growing
epidemic."
Nicole Wilson
Best Syndication
Books on Dieting
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