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The Weight of the Nation

Confronting America's obesity epidemic
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  • Fact
    Sugar-sweetened beverages are the largest source of sugar in the diets of children and adolescents.
    The percentage of adolescents aged 12-19 years who were obese increased from 5% in 1980 to 18% in 2008.
    In the 25 years between 1987 and 2010, the number of American's diagnosed with diabetes almost tripled to 20.9 million.
    One in four adults gets no leisure-time moderate or vigorous physical activity at all.
    About 46% of adults' added sugar intake comes from sugary drinks.
    According to Nielsen data, comparing 2008 to 2010, preschool children were exposed to 50% more TV ads for energy drinks in 2010.
    In the United States in 2010, over 63% of people are overweight or obese.
    One study showed that obese people are 83% more likely to develop kidney disease compared to normal-weight people.
    Children consume more than 7.5 hours of media a day, 7 days a week.
    79 million Americans have prediabetes.
    40% of every dollar spent on food is spent on food prepared outside the home.
    Currently in the United States, 4% of elementary schools, 8% of middle schools, and 2% of high schools provide daily physical education or its equivalent.
    The obese workforce costs American business an estimated $73.1 billion per year.
    Half of obese teenage girls become extremely obese by their early 30s.
    Food obtained outside the home tends to be higher in calories and fat than food prepared at home.
    90% of parents with obese children do not seek medical help.
    The percentage of children aged 6-11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 20% in 2008.
    The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate to intense aerobic activity every week for adults.
    The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend 60 minutes of physical activity every day for children.

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  • About the Project

    Learn more about the films, guides and interactive components that make up The Weight of the Nation.

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  • Pledge for Progress

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  • The Age of Obesity

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  • The information included on this site is for educational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice.

    The content of this site, and related materials, are presented exclusively by HBO, which has sole editorial responsibility for the content of The Weight of the Nation®. The content does not reflect the official position of the Institute of Medicine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, Kaiser Permanente, and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (“the partners”), their agencies or assigns.  The Partners, as part of their missions to advance health and decrease obesity rates, serve in a scientific advisor role and/or provide subject matter technical assistance on The Weight of the Nation®.

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