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A weighty issue for NY
24/11/2005 07:44 - (SA)
New York - One of five adult New Yorkers is obese, but he or she probably doesn't know it.
Or maybe the person isn't willing to admit it.
Statistics from the city's health department released on Tuesday - just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday - show that about one million New Yorkers qualify as obese. Yet, only 39% described themselves as "very overweight".
More than half of New York adults - some 3.2 million, or 53% - are either obese or overweight, according to the report, which used data from 2002 and 2003.
"Obesity is directly related to getting too little physical activity and consuming too many calories," said Thomas Frieden, commissioner of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. "Just 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week can literally save your life."
Nationally the obesity rate stood at around 23% in 2004; that's up from 12% in 1993, according to the department.
Lack of exercise
The survey also found, among other things, that just 26% of New Yorkers engage in physical activity at least half an hour a day, four times a week, and 23% of New Yorkers who qualify as obese watch at least five hours of television daily.
Frieden pointed out that health problems related to being overweight, like heart diseases, diabetes or cancer, often stem from childhood and one in five New York children in kindergarten is overweight.
Obesity is defined by the body mass index (BMI) which measures the body fat based on height and weight.
Adults with a BMI over 25 are considered overweight, a BMI of 30 or more defines obesity.
A woman who is 1.64m tall and weighing 65.77kg would have a BMI of 25 and be overweight. If she weighed 78.93kg she would have a BMI of 30 and be obese.
- AP
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South Africa
