A Harvard study suggests the prevalence of U.S. obesity has been greatly underestimated because people provide false information about themselves.
Harvard School of Public Health researchers analyzed data from state health surveys used to estimate obesity levels. Since people tend to provide incorrect information about their weight and height, especially during telephone surveys, the researchers concluded estimates of obesity in individual states have been more than 50 percent too low.
Obesity is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality, causing some 2.6 million deaths worldwide each year.
The researchers determined women, on average, tend to underestimate their weight while men do not. However, young and middle-aged men tend to overestimate their height more than women.
The research -- presenting the first-ever corrected estimates of obesity for individual states -- showed the 2002 corrected prevalence of obesity was 28.7 percent for adult men and 34.5 percent for adult women -- more than 50 percent higher than previously estimated.
The study appears in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
Related stories:
Route to obesity passes through tongue
Obesity gradually numbs the taste sensation of rats to sweet foods and drives them to consume larger and ever-sweeter meals, according to neuroscientists. Findings from the Penn State study could uncover a critical link between taste and body weight, and reveal how flab hooks the brain on sugary food.
Text messaging may help children fight off obesity
Many children love sending and receiving text messages through their cell phones – sometimes to the great annoyance of their parents.
Apelin hormone injections powerfully lower blood sugar
By injecting a hormone produced by fat and other tissues into mice, researchers report in the November
Cell Metabolism that they significantly lowered blood sugar levels in normal and obese mice. The findings suggest that the hormone known as apelin might be a promising target for managing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
Low-carb diets alter glucose formation by the liver
A new study shows that a low-carbohydrate diet changes hepatic energy metabolism. When carbohydrates are restricted, the liver relies more on substances like lactate and amino acids to form glucose, instead of glycerol. These findings are in the November issue of
Hepatology, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).
Researchers tie genes, lower reward response to weight gain
The brains of obese people seem to respond to a tasty treat with less vigor than the brains of their leaner peers, suggesting obese people may overeat to compensate for a reduced reward response, according to a new brain imaging and genetics study conducted by researchers at Yale University, The John B. Pierce Laboratory, the University of Texas and Oregon Research Institute.
Olive oil ingredient ups the time between meals
A fatty acid found in abundance in olive oil and other "healthy" unsaturated fats has yet another benefit: it helps keep the body satisfied to prolong the time between meals.
Scientists discover why a mother's high-fat diet contributes to obesity in her children
New research published online in
The FASEB Journal suggests that pregnant women should think twice about high-fat foods. In a study from the University of Cincinnati and the Medical College of Georgia, scientists found that female mice fed high fat diets were more likely to have oversized offspring (a risk factor for overweight and obesity) because fat causes the placenta to go into "overdrive" by providing too many nutrients to the fetus. This information also suggests that the reverse may be true as well—high fat diets may help prevent undersized babies.
Blood pressure response to daily stress provides clues for better hypertension treatment
How the body regulates blood pressure in response to daily stress is the focus of a study geared toward helping people whose pressure is out of control.