Health Behaviors and Risk Factors in the USA

Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Article Date: 28 Feb 2004 - 0:00 PST


National Center for Health Statistics

Health behaviors and risk factors have a significant effect on health outcomes. Cigarette smoking increases the risk of lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and other respiratory diseases.

Overweight and obesity increase the risk of death and disease as well as the severity of disease. Regular physical activity lessens the risk of disease and enhances physical functioning.

Heavy and chronic use of alcohol and use of illicit drugs increase the risk of disease and injuries. Environmental exposures also affect health.

For example, air pollution contributes to respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease, and some cancers.

Since 1990 the percent of adults who smoke cigarettes has declined only slightly. In 2001, 25 percent of men and 21 percent of women were smokers.

Cigarette smoking by adults is strongly associated with educational attainment. Adults with less than a high school education were nearly three times as likely to smoke as were those with a bachelor's degree or more education in 2001.

Between 1997 and 2001 the percent of high school students who reported smoking cigarettes in the past month declined from 36 percent to 29 percent, reversing an upward trend that began in the early 1990s.

Cigarette smoking during pregnancy is a risk factor for poor birth outcomes such as low birthweight and infant death. In 2001 the proportion of mothers who smoked cigarettes during pregnancy declined to 12 percent, down from 20 percent in 1989. In 2001 the smoking rate during pregnancy for mothers ages 18-19 years (19 percent) remained higher than that for mothers of other ages.

In 2001, 38 percent of female high school students and 24 percent of male high school students did not engage in the recommended amounts of moderate or vigorous physical activity, about the same as in 1999.

In 2000 the percent of adults 18 years of age and over who were inactive during their usual daily activity and leisure time was higher for women than men (12 percent and 7 percent, age adjusted) and increased sharply with age. Nearly one-fifth of men age 65 years and over and more than one-quarter of women age 65 years and over were inactive.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity among adults 20-74 years of age increased from 47 percent in 1976-80 to 65 percent in 1999-2000. During this period the prevalence of obesity among adults 20-74 years of age increased from 15 to 28 percent (percents are age adjusted).

The prevalence of obesity among adults varies by race and ethnicity. In 1999-2000, 50 percent of non-Hispanic black women 20-74 years of age were obese, compared with 40 percent of women of Mexican origin and 30 percent of non-Hispanic white women (percents are age adjusted). Obesity among black women increased more than 60 percent since 1976-80, from 31 percent to 50 percent.
Between 1976-80 and 1999-2000 the prevalence of overweight among children 6-11 years of age more than doubled from 7 to 15 percent and the prevalence of overweight among adolescents 12-19 years of age more than tripled from 5 to 16 percent.

In 2001 among current drinkers age 18 years and over, 41 percent of men and 20 percent of women reported drinking five or more alcoholic drinks on at least 1 day in the past year (age-adjusted).

This level of alcohol consumption was most common among young adults 18-24 years of age . Between 2000 and 2001 the prevalence of illicit drug use within the past 30 days among youths 12-17 years of age increased 1 percentage point to 11 percent.

The percent of youths reporting illicit drug use increased with age, from 4 percent among 12-13 year olds to 11 percent among those age 14-15 years and 18 percent among those 16-17 years in 2001.

Between 1991 and 2001 the number of cocaine-related emergency department episodes per 100,000 population nearly tripled for persons 35 years and over, to 76 episodes per 100,000.

The age group 26-34 years has the highest episode rate, 176 per 100,000 in 2001. The same patient may be involved in multiple drug-related episodes.

Air pollution causes premature death, cancer, and long-term damage to respiratory and cardiovascular systems. The presence of unacceptable levels of ground-level ozone is the largest source of air pollution. In 2001 approximately 41 percent of the U.S. population lived in areas designated as nonattainment areas for established health-based standards for ozone.

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