The Obesity Society is a United States based organization which aims to show the epidemic of obesity.

Obesity is a serious problem affecting the United States of America and the Caribbean. It is steadily increasing and is a serious health issue. Some health risks are high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol levels, cancer, infertility, ulcers, gallstones and breathing problems. This report shows the data collected by National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) of adults over the age of twenty from 2009 - 2010. It illustrates the prevalence of obesity in adults by sex and ethnicity. Figure one shows an estimated percentage of adults with Body Mass Indexes (BMI) in specific ranges. The graph shows that 31.2 % of adults have a BMI of 24.9 or lower, and thus, are considered to be normal weight or underweight. There are 33.1 % that are considered to be overweight since their BMI ranges from 25 to 29.9. People that have a BMI of 30 or over are considered to be obese, which is 35.7 %. Extreme obesity lies with those who have a BMI of 40 or higher, amounting to 6.3 %. Therefore it can be deduced that 75.1 % of the population has a BMI of over 24.9 whilst 31.2 % of the population is considered to fall below the overweight threshold. As a result of these values it can be stated that the majority of the population suffers from obesity. Figure two shows the population of men and women in three categories; overweight people, obese people and extremely obese people. The percentage of women found to be overweight was 64 % while 74 % of men are overweight. There are an equal amount of men and women that are obese, 36 % .In the range of extreme obesity, 4 % of men fall within this category whilst 8 % of women are extremely obese, therefore there are twice the amount of extremely obese women as opposed to men. From this figure it can be calculated that 40 % of males have a BMI over thirty, whilst 44 % of females fall within this BMI range. Therefore the prevalence of obesity and

extreme obesity is slightly higher in females as opposed to males. Women maybe more obese due to hormonal changes during pregnancy, infertility, gynecological complications, and birth defects. Figure three shows the prevalence of overweight or obesity, obesity, and extreme obesity among three different races; White, Black and Hispanic people. This graph also shows the prevalence of all adults in the US during the period of 2009 to 2010. There was 66.7 % of White people that fell into the overweight category, 34.3 % were obese and 5.7 % were considered extremely obese. Among Black people 76.7 % were overweight, 49.5 % were obese and 13.1 % were extremely obese, whilst among Hispanic people, 78.8 % were overweight, 39.1 % were obese and 5% were extremely obese. In the United States in all the ethnic categories 68.8 % were overweight, 35.7% were obese and 6.3% were extremely obese. There are more obese Hispanic and Black people as compared to White people. The national average for obesity is 35.7 %; the greatest percentage is the Black ethnic group, which is 49.5%, followed by Hispanics, 39.1 % and then Whites, 34.3 %. Of the 35.7 % of total obese adults, 34.3 % were White people, 49.5 % were Black people and 39.1 % were Hispanic people. In all three races, the amount men and women were equally obese, 36 %.Extreme obesity is extant in 6.3 % of all adults. Of this total, 5.7 % are White people, 13.1 % are Black people and 5 % are Hispanic people. In all three ethnic groups the amount of females that were extremely obese was twice that of males, 8% females and 4% males. In the three ethnic groups as well as the national average, most of the population were overweight, while roughly one-third was obese and a minor amount of people were extremely obese. For every one hundred Black, White and Hispanic people, there are 76.7 % of Black, 66.7 % of White and 78.8 % of Hispanic people that are overweight. The

prevalence of overweight, obese and extremely obese may vary among the three ethnic groups due to their different lifestyles, cultural attitude, income, and education. From the data it can be seen that women are at a greater risk of becoming obese and men at becoming overweight. Blacks and Hispanics are more obese and overweight as compared to white people. However black people are more obese when compared to Hispanics.