Over the last 25 years, obesity rates doubled among U.S. adults and tripled in children and teens. Overweight and obesity affect the majority of American adults (66%) and one-third of children. Diet and inactivity are cross-cutting risk factors, contributing significantly to four out of the six leading causes of death (i.e., heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes).

The Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity (DNPA) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funds states to design and implement nutrition and physical activity promotion and obesity prevention programs, public health research, communication campaigns, and national surveys.  The current level of funding, $41 million a year, allows the CDC to fund just 28 states.  The Center for Science in the Public Interest is working with over 300 other organizations through the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA) to get every state funded, strengthen CDC’s nutrition and physical activity national programs, and expand CDC’s national program to promote fruit and vegetable intake.

Although one-third of the premature deaths in the U.S. are attributable to poor nutrition and physical inactivity, the federal government has not made helping Americans avoid diet and inactivity-related diseases a priority.  Funding for DNPA represents just ½% of the CDC’s total budget.  For minimal investment, we could save billions of dollars a year by stemming the rising tide of obesity.  According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, healthier diets could prevent at least $71 billion per year in medical costs, lost productivity, and lost lives.  The CDC estimates that if all physically inactive Americans became active, we would save $77 billion in annual medical costs.

You can read more about funding the CDC’s anti-obesity program at: 

http://www.cspinet.org/nutritionpolicy/briefingbook.pdf