What was the obesity rate in 1950

The prevalence of obesity among American adults was 35 percent in to However, among black Americans, the rate was 48 percent. The difference is even more striking among women, with 37 percent of all American compared to 57 percent of black American women classified as having obesity. Disproportions in obesity prevalence also exist for Hispanics; again, more notably for women.

Reversing the obesity epidemic in the United States involves prevention of weight gain and interventions at the individual, social and community levels. Some members have lost 30 pounds, while others have lost Although the range is substantial, lifestyle changes that promote and sustain any weight loss are worth noting. For example, 90 percent of NWCR members reported that they exercise — on average — about 1 hour daily.

Nearly 80 percent eat breakfast daily, and 75 percent weigh themselves weekly. On the community level, elementary schools can encourage students to drink water in place of sugar-sweetened beverages and make healthier choices available. Many schools can promote student health through a school-wide wellness policy. Workplace wellness initiatives should be ongoing to encourage regular physical activity and healthy lifestyles for employees.

For minority groups, effective interventions have included using school property as recreation facilities during non-school hours and increasing nutrition assistance and education programming. It can take as little as two generations for our genes to be programmed in ways that tip us toward obesity.

It may take more generations than that to reverse the damage done. But, Sothern says, we have to start somewhere. I think the next generation knows what is good for their babies. Nicole Neimeyer decided early in life that she was destined to be fat. Even though her mother cooked healthful meals, Neimeyer was always hungry. She was tall and athletic but seemed to gain weight at twice the rate of other kids. High-fat, sugary diets and waning physical-activity patterns are largely blamed for the outbreak of obesity that has swept the United States since around and now encompasses one-third of all Americans.

The year-old, 5-foot-8 Riverside woman sorts through photo albums on her kitchen table one weekday morning while keeping an eye on her two young sons, Matthew, 4, and Nicholas, 3. Almost all of the photos of relatives taken before show people who are normal-weight or even skinny. Neimeyer picks up a photo of herself in her cheerleading uniform, age 9. Despite eating family meals and avoiding soda and fast food, Neimeyer weighed pounds in sixth grade. In the year following high school graduation, she gained 60 pounds.

She tried numerous diets, exercise regimens, acupuncture and vitamin shots to lose weight. The women often discuss their battles.

I used to feel like it was just me. The birth of her own children compelled Neimeyer to take another stab at weight loss. Both of her boys are big for their ages, and she feared they would become obese.

She joined Weight Watchers in March and began to reshape not only her own health but that of her family. They walk every day, and Wii dance games are a favorite pastime. Neimeyer paid close attention to her cooking — as a result, her husband, Matthew, lost 65 pounds. Staying toned: In gym in New York, Bradley wearing a sweatsuit was photographed exercising to avoid 'flabbiness'.

LIFE wrote at the time that some 5 million Americans are medically considered obese, weighing at least 20 per cent more than normal and having a mortality rate one-and-a-half times higher than their slimmer, healthier peers. The article went on to list some of the medical problems caused by excess weight, including diabetes, kidney and bladder maladies, and complications during pregnancy and surgery.

For the magazine, Miss Bradley has become a poster child of an ever-expanding class of Americans careening toward a health crisis caused by overeating and lack of exercise.

In a desperate bid to attain a smaller waistline and slimmer figure, Miss Bradley, who had been tipping the scales at lbs since high school, invited LIFE to document her battle of the bulge, which began in when she was about 26 years old.

Shopping trip: Embarrassed at a store because she wears a size 40, Dorothy tries on a new dress as a friend points out that dieting has reduced her waistline by two sizes. Food envy: A photo taken after Dorothy had lost 40lbs shows her longingly staring at a slimmer woman enjoying a large milkshake while she herself sips on a sugar-free lemonade.

Photos that were taken as part of the project, some of which had never been published before, have been recently released on LIFE's website. A poignant, intimate black-and-white photo depicts the 5 foot 5 Dorothy reluctantly stepping out of a locker room at the beach sporting a large one-piece bathing suit.