Community Corner

Are Montgomery County Residents Gaining Weight?

Obesity is responsible for more than 300,000 US deaths annually. Find out how fat Montgomery County is.

Written and reported by Heather Martino

America’s epidemic of fatness extends all the way to Montgomery County, with obesity rates at 30.7 percent for men and 30 percent for women in 2011. 

Over the past ten years, the obesity rate has flip-flipped between men and women; in 2001, the percentage of obese women was higher at 22.2 percent, compared to the 21.8 percent of men in Montgomery County were obese.

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Using the map above, you can see that men in Montgomery County became 8.3 percent more obese during that period, compared to 7.9 percent for women.

This trend is also seen in nearby Chester, Bucks and Delaware Counties—the obesity levels of females are increasing at a slower rate than that of men—though the obesity level for Chester County women increased by 8.4 percent, nearly .5 points more than Montgomery County and a 1.4 points more than Delaware County.

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Montgomery County’s obesity level is below the United States average, which is 33.8 percent for men and 36.1 percent for women.  However, the U.S. average is increasing at a slower rate than Montgomery County; the difference between 2001 and 2011 was 7.7 percent for men and 7.4 percent for women, on a national level.

In 2011, obesity prevalence for both genders in the U.S. ranged from 20.7% in Colorado to 34.9% in Mississippi, according to the CDC.

These figures were obtained from a recent study from the University of Washington, which found that nationwide men are more obese than their female counterparts, which is the case in Montgomery County and Pennsylvania.

According to the CDC, obesity affects more than one-third of adults, or 35.7 percent of the population in the United States. Obesity is calculated by measuring a person’s height and weight, and deriving at a ratio called the body mass index, or BMI. This number often correlates to an individual’s amount of body fat, and is used to ascertain whether a person is considered underweight, a normal weight, overweight or obese.

Obese individuals have a 50-100% increased risk of premature death, and it’s estimated that obesity may be the cause of 300,000 deaths per year according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Interestingly, Americans claim to be exercising more during the same time period that obesity climbed. “Around the country, you can see huge increases in the percentage of people becoming physically active, which research tells us is certain to have health benefits,” said IHME Director Dr. Christopher Murray in a press release. Murray added that “If communities in the US can replicate this success and tackle the ongoing obesity impact, it will see more substantial health gains.”

The good news is that there may be silver lining to America’s fat epidemic. While we’re still getting fatter, at least it’s happening at a slower rate than in past years. And if this rate continues to drop, Montgomery County might soon be reporting slimmer, healthier residents.


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