Average Chesco resident needs to lose 50
WEST CHESTER >> The average resident in Chester County needs to lose upwards of 50 pounds to fall safely within normal or healthy weight guidelines, according to a recent study conducted locally by Dietspotlight.
The state average is about 60 pounds and the United States falls in just short of that at 59 pounds. This data suggests the amount of weight residents of Chester need to lose is between 15 percent and 16 percent less than state and country averages.
On average, men in Chester County weigh about 214 pounds and have a Body Mass Index of 30.5. The average woman weighs about 183 pounds with a Body Mass Index of 30.6.
In the United States, West Virginia tops the list of heaviest states. Pennsylvania is in the middle of the pack as the 24th heaviest. About 32 percent of the Pennsylvania population is considered obese.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, some 93 million people are obese today and the United States leads the pack.
The World Health Organization has noticed the change in obesity demographics as well, Once considered a problem only in high income countries, overweight and obesity are now dramatically on the rise in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in urban settings.
Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer that are some of the leading causes of preventable, premature death, according to the CDC.
The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the United States was $147 billion in 2008 US dollars; the medical cost for people who have obesity was $1,429 higher than those of normal weight, the CDC reported.
In Chester County, men and women have reached Dietspotlight in search of help getting started with weight loss via fat burners, diet pills, workout programs, meal plans, and more. These men and women shared personal data anonymously and voluntarily, which led led to the conclusions in the study.