Drudge’s headline this morning screams “New Warning: 42 percent Obese?”
Ok, ok, everyone take a deep breath.
Before you put down your chocolate croissant, consider that this claim was made at a CDC-hosted conference called Weight of the Nation where public health officials, nutritionists, medical professionals, and health researchers have gathered to hand-wring about our nation’s collective pant size.
And while there might be some good information coming out of this conference (one hopes we’ll see more discussion of topics concerning the importance of a parent’s role in a child’s nutrition), no one should be surprised that these dramatic claims are also being bounced around.
It’s also important to remember that the CDC’s own numbers on obesity don’t bear the claim that the United States is getting closer and closer to a 50 percent obesity rate. In fact, CDC numbers released this year show that the prevalence of obesity in the United States has largely leveled off over the last decade.