THE CRISIS

• Heart disease affects an estimated 62 million Americans, and is the number one cause of death in the United States.
• 2 out of 3 people with diabetes die from heart disease or stroke. It is the third leading cause of death. There are 54 million people in the United States who have pre-diabetes and many don’t even know it.

• The number one health crisis facing not only African Americans, but all Americans, is being overweight. Two out of every three adults (66%) today are considered to be overweight, or even worse, obese.
• The statistics for African Americans are even more alarming—where almost 80% of adult women and 67% of adult men are overweight
• Equally worrisome is that 38-44% of African-American teenagers between the ages 12-19 are overweight.

• For the first time in 200 years, American children may have life expectancies shorter than their parents. This appears mainly to be due to rampant obesity.

Outcomes related to childhood obesity include hypertension (high blood pressure), type 2 diabetes mellitus, heart disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, obstructive sleep apnea, orthopedic problems, and psychosocial problems.