Community Corner

Are Men And Women Getting Fatter In Alameda County?

Obesity is responsible for over 300,000 US deaths annually. Find out how fat our county is.

By Heather Martino

America’s epidemic of fatness extends all the way to Alameda County, with obesity rates at 24.1 percent for men and 30.6 percent for women in 2011. Using the map above, you can see the rate was only 21 percent for men and 25.5 percent for women in 2001.

Obesity in the state of California increased only slightly more than Alameda County, with a 5.3 and 5.5 percentage point increase in the same time period for men and women, respectively.

Find out what's happening in Albanywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Compared to neighboring Contra Costa County, Alameda County is slightly slimmer. There, 24.1 percent of males and 30.8 percent of females are considered obese.

And compared to other states, Alameda County is slimmer than the national average of 33.8 percent in men and 36.1 percent in women. In 2011, obesity prevalence in the U.S. ranged from 20.7% in Colorado to 34.9% in Mississippi, according to the CDC.

Find out what's happening in Albanywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

These figures were obtained from a recent study from the University of Washington.

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 to 100 percent 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.”

In this week's real estate stories, Albany Patch highlighted a home for sale that has a high walkability rate and therefore is more conducive to exercise.

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, Contra Costa County might soon be reporting slimmer, healthier residents.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here