Health and wellness in America is something that is concerning many people right across the country. America’s population is one of the most obese in the world due to fast food being available and easily accessible. Here are some affects about the health and wellness in America that you may not have known.

Nutrition

1. Americans eat less than the daily recommended amount of dairy products, whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
2. 90% of Americans eat twice as much sodium than the recommendation for healthy diets.
3. $20 billion worth of medical costs can be saved per year if the sodium intake was reduced by 1,200mgs per day.
4. The number of fast food restaurants has doubled since 1970.
5. Food borne agents affects 1 out of 6 people and cause 3,000 deaths, 128,000 hospitalization, and 48 million illnesses per year.

Physical Health

1. Only 1 in 3 children are physically active each and every day.
2. Children spend around 7 hours a day in front of a screened device.
3. 6% of people with disabilities reported that they were physically inactive during the normal week compared against the 12.8% of those people who didn’t have a disability.
4. A third of high school students play computer or video games for 3+ hours per average school day.
5. There are 6 states only which require physical education in schools in every grade from K -12.

Obesity

1. Statistics from 2009-2010 indicated that over 12.5 million children and 78 million US adults are obese.
2. Adolescents that are overweight have a 70% chance of becoming overweight or obese when they become adults
3. Reports project by 2030 that half of adults in the USA will be obese.
4. Children with disabilities have a higher rate of becoming obese than that of those who don’t.
5. 45% of children who are living in poverty are obese or overweight compared against those who have family incomes well above the poverty level.

Financial Costs of Obesity

1. The annual cost of obesity related illnesses including death, disability, and chronic disease is estimated at $190.2 billion.
2. Obese individual’s medical costs are $1,429 more than those people who are normal in weight.
3. 27% of people are too overweight to service in the military. 15,000 potential recruits fail their physicals due to lack of fitness.
4. The annual cost for being overweight for women is $524 and $432 for men.
5. Medical care costs in 2008 were estimated to be around $147 billion for obesity.