May 18, 2021

"Hospital admissions linked to obesity in England topped one million for the first time last year, according to NHS figures."

The London Times reports. Look at the trend:

The article says that 27% of men and 29% of women in England are obese. But that's a lot less than in the United States. 36.5% of Americans are obese. — 40.4% of women and 35% of men. 

I don't know the number of hospital admissions in the U.S. that are "linked to obesity," and I don't have a chart showing the 10-year trend. I should look harder, but I am seeing "78% of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the US overweight or obese, CDC finds."

AND: Actually, that 78% figure isn't so alarming if you consider that 69% of Americans are overweight or obese. That's only 9 percentage points more than random.

1 comment:

Ann Althouse said...

ALP writes:

The UK obesity post is very relevant and timely for me. My 82 year old mother just got out of the hospital, admitted after falling while getting out of bed. Fell on the hip she had replaced years earlier. The primary reason for her lack of mobility: obesity. It is the source of every problem she has as she ages. Despite decades as a vegetarian (married to a vegan allergic to gluten) she managed to end up as obese as one that consumed junk and fast food their whole lives. Obesity in your later years affects so many aspects of life - I think once you hit a certain level of overweight nearly every problem you have is worsened. My sibling and I look at her as a cautionary tale: you better keep moving. We are downright fanatical about our workouts - sort of haunted by the prospect of ending up like her. My mother's situation shows that a healthy diet alone isn't enough.

The slimmest woman in our family? That would be me - the meat eater that doesn't impose any dietary restrictions. Go figure....so maybe exercise IS more important that diet?