2. Obesity

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the national public health institute of the United States headquartered in Atlanta, GA, an obese adult is one who has a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher.

Looking at the latest CDC statistics:

• The prevalence rate of obesity is 41.9%, currently affecting 4 out of 10 Americans.
• The estimated medical cost of obesity was $173 billion in 2019, those individuals with obesity had an increased medical cost of $1,861 more than those of normal weight.

Additional statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS):

• It is projected by 2030, about 115 million adults in the U.S. will be obese.
• The annual coast of being obese is $4,879 for women and $2,646 for men.

The CDC 2021 Adult Obesity Prevalence map below displays the overall self-reported obesity levels of adults in the U.S. Most notably:

• All states and territories had more than 20% of adults with obesity. 
• The South (36.3%) had the highest prevalence of obesity, followed by the Midwest (35.4%), the Northeast (29.9%), and the West (28.7%). 

However, despite these alarming statistics, universities across the country are reducing, and in many cases, cutting undergraduate requirements for physical education. According to a recent study by Oregon State University, only 32% of colleges and universities in the US require some form of physical education course to graduate. An interesting factor behind this decline is assuming most students learn basic physical education in their K-12 years. However, this is not the case, with only 21% of US children and youth aged 6-17 meeting the physical activity guidelines of 60 minutes of physical activity every day. As such, the study concludes by stating this decline is “counterintuitive” and “does not represent an evidence-based best practice.”