Community Corner

Are Men or Women Gaining Weight in Macomb Township?

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

This article was written by Heather Martino.

America’s epidemic of fatness extends all the way to Macomb Township, with obesity rates at 36 percent for men and 38 percent for women in 2011. Using the map above, you can see the rate was only 27 percent for men and 30 percent for women in 2001.

Obesity growth rates in Macomb Township and the rest of Macomb County are right on pace with the rest of Michigan, which saw an 8 percentage point increase in the same time period for both men and women.

Macomb County residents are fatter than their neighbors in Oakland County, where obesity rates are at 32 percent for men and 33 percent for woman. However, they're slimmer than residents of Wayne County, where 38 percent of men and 44 percent of women are obese.  

Compared to other states, men and women in Michigan are fatter than the national average of 34 percent for men and 36 percent for women. 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.

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

The county figures on the map were obtained from a recent study from the University of Washington, which found that nationwide women are more obese than their male counterparts.

But men and women aren’t gaining weight at the same rate: In Macomb Township and the rest of Macomb County, men reported a 7 percentage point increase, while women’s obesity rates rose 8 percentage points from 2001-2011.

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

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, Macomb Township might soon be reporting slimmer, healthier residents.


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