Obesity Linked to Inactivity

"Inactivity rather than overeating could be driving the surge in American's obesity."  This is the finding of reasearchers at Stanford University.  Examining national health survey results from 1988 through 2010, the researchers found huge increases in both obesity and inactivity, but not in the overall number of calories consumed.

“What struck us the most was just how dramatic the change in leisure-time physical activity was,” said Uri Ladabaum, MD, associate professor of gastroenterology and lead author of the study. “Although we cannot draw conclusions about cause and effect from our study, our findings support the notion that exercise and physical activity are important determinants of the trends in obesity.”

In their analysis of the data, the researchers found that...

"The percentage of women reporting no physical activity jumped from 19 percent to 52 percent between 1988 and 2010; the percentage of inactive men rose from 11 percent to 43 percent over the same period.  Obesity also increased, climbing from 25 to 35 percent in women and from 20 to 35 percent in men."

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