Latest threat to New York: Obesity

Latest threat to New York: Obesity

NEW YORK: More than 20 percent of New York's adult population is flirting with obesity, but they are either unaware of the problem or do not want to acknowledge it, says a new report from the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, released just before Thanksgiving on Tuesday.

This means that close to 1 million New Yorkers are obese, but only about 39 percent of them are willing to admit the same. "Almost two-thirds of the people who are obese aren't aware they are obese. In general, women are more likely than men to correctly identify themselves as very overweight," said Gretchen Van Wye, the director of community epidemiology at the City's Health department.

City officials admit that their recommendations of eating five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables has fallen on deaf ears since 91 percent of the city's population do not consume them. Also only about 26 percent get the mandatory 30 minutes of exercise per week.

A surprising finding was that 2 percent of those surveyed admitted to being underweight, while 16 percent felt they were balanced. 75 percent of the population does not get any regular exercise and this has lead to a rather sedentary lifestyle, which is obviously an open invitation to obesity. Thomas Frieden, the commissioner of the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said that the figures were a cause for concern, "Obesity is directly related to getting too little physical activity and consuming too many calories.

Just 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week can literally save your life," he observed. The report also said that New York was up there with the national average of obesity, which stood at 23 percent in 2004. This rate has increased by 11 percent in just over a decade. It was 12 percent in 1993.

Obesity is fast assuming pandemic proportions worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on nations to act swiftly to curb this problem. Obesity is associated with chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes and arthritis.