Can Obesity be Considered an Epidemic?

Obesity has become a hot-button issue in the past few years, with no signs of cooling off in sight. But just how serious is this health condition growing to be and is it really an epidemic? We've taken a look at the facts in this debate to get a clear picture of how to move forward.

Obesity has come to be a serious issue in recent years, not only in the United States, but in the world as a whole. What’s worse, it is a condition that is caused by preexisting impairments and illnesses, as well as daily habits, or a combination of both. This makes it a very complicated issue to confront on the scale it has reached.

The obesity question

The question of whether obesity is an epidemic has become so debated and charged, that it’s often difficult to grasp just how widespread this affliction has grown. In fact, many of the voices in this debate make the argument that obesity is so commonplace, so rampant, that it can and should be considered to be an epidemic. If this were the case, this would make tackling the issue of obesity a number one priority, and would completely warrant the emphasis some individuals place on obesity as a problem that must be targeted much more than it currently is. But how do we know if an illness or disease should be categorized as an epidemic? There are a number of contributing factors that go into deciding whether to officially label something as an epidemic or not, and it’s important to firstly understand what this definition entails.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, an epidemic “refers to an increase, often sudden, in the number of cases of a disease above what is normally expected in that population in that area.” This means, for a disease to be considered an epidemic, it must affect a specific population in such vast numbers that it negatively impairs the chances of that population’s prosperity. It must also witness a sudden rise in the number of affected cases; abnormal when compared to any previous trends.

So does obesity fit this criteria? Well, many people are beginning to believe so — both experts and laymen alike. But what do the facts say?

According to one study, during the year 2009-2010, the percentage of people 20 years and older living with obesity according to their BMIs, was 35.7%. A further 6.3% of people surveyed were considered to fit the ‘extreme obesity’ category, which brings the total percentage of people in the survey living with obesity to 42%.

The verdict on the epidemic dilemma

By all definitions, this would tick the first piece of criteria — the percentage of cases amongst any given population — and would allow for obesity to be sufficiently considered as an epidemic.

But how sudden did this arise? Since the 1960s, the percentage of obese individuals in both the “over 20s” category, and amongst children, has gone up immensely. For adults aged 20 and older, it rose significantly in the 30 years preceding 1960, but stayed relatively constant between 1999 and 2010 — albeit, with an admittedly substantial statistical increase in prevalence. This rise in prevalence in the last 15 years has affected men as a whole the most, but has also impacted certain ethnic groups specifically. Self-identifying black or African American women have also experienced this rise, as have self-identifying Mexican American women.

The sheer prevalence of this condition, and the fairly sudden and substantial rise in such a short period, should make considering obesity as an epidemic, fairly straightforward. The problem exists with the perception of the word epidemic, and what it’s most commonly used to refer to. The perception is that it’s more applicable to use it to refer to viruses and contagions, that whilst may have existed for some time, experience ‘break out’ periods that obesity simply cannot produce. Since obesity cannot be spread from person to person — the genetic issue currently remaining unsolved — labeling obesity as an epidemic will always be a loaded topic, even though it may tick all the right boxes.