FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 13, 2004

A NEW FRONT IN THE WAR ON OBESITY

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REALITY RESEARCH ROLLS OUT STATISTICS OF HUMAN POUNDAGE

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Nearly 4 Million Americans Weigh Over 300 Pounds

HARTSDALE, N.Y. — A new front has been opened in the psychological war on obesity: publication of actual American bodyweight. Until now, the chief weapon in the informational war has been a polite abstraction — "Body Mass Index", or BMI. But this simple, indispensable yet abstruse ratio of weight to height lacks the shock impact to ignite a national revolution.

The shelling has been noisy but light, with only vague generalities and abstractions peppering the American consciousness — such as "3 out of 5 Americans are overweight" or that "childhood obesity has nearly tripled in the last two decades." These are empty projectiles fired from heavy artillery, according to a new report by American Sports Data, Inc. (ASD).

In January 2004, a nationwide study of 12,094 adults (18+) — sponsored by the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) and conducted by ASD — projected that 3.8 million Americans weighed more than 300 pounds. "Unless you're a well-proportioned 7-foot basketball player or a huge wrestler, that much body mass is hard to justify," said ASD president Harvey Lauer. "These are the eyebrow-raising figures we need to publicize — not that the average woman has a BMI of 27.5, or that the rate of morbid obesity is 2.2%. Public health officials are logical, quantitative types who are scrupulous about data presentation — but the art of communication is not necessarily part of their job description," he continued.

"People still aren't getting it. We need more visceral symbols of the obesity epidemic — measures of the flesh that are vivid, graphic and powerful enough to galvanize a dangerously overweight population. Within the bounds of sensitivity, we need to hear more about pounds, inches, bodyfat percentages, sweating, panting, asthma, diabetes, heart attacks and premature death," concluded Lauer.

Men comprise 70% of the 300+ pound category, and also dominate a supermassive segment of 400,000 Americans who tip the scales at more than 400 pounds! 1 in 9 adult men carry more than 250 pounds, while 1 out of 6 women weighs in at over 200!

Adult males in the ASD study averaged 196 pounds; for women, the mean self-reported bodyweight was 163. In 1999–2000, the CDC-sponsored NHANES study, using mobile vans that criss-crossed the nation, physically weighed more than 4,000 adults (20+), calculating a mean of 177 — similar to the later ASD finding of 179.

The current report on Obesity and Weight Control is derived from the Superstudy® of Sports Participation, conducted in January 2004 and based on a nationally representative sample of 15,015 people over the age of 6 who were among 25,000 respondents targeted in a sample drawn from the consumer mail panel of TNS-NFO. 103 sports and activities were measured along 20 demographic, attitudinal and behavioral dimensions. Data were also collected on health club membership, physical fitness, and weight control. This annual tracking study has been conducted by ASD every year since 1987. For more information log onto www.americansportsdata.com.

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