Obesity prevalence among veterans at Veterans Affairs medical facilities.

BACKGROUND Obesity is a significant public health problem in the United States. Comprehensive obesity prevalence data among veterans have not been previously reported. METHODS This is a cross-sectional analysis of 1,803,323 veterans receiving outpatient care at 136 Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities in 2000. Measured weight, height, and demographic data were used to obtain age-adjusted prevalences of body mass index (BMI) categories, which were stratified by gender and examined by age and race/ethnicity. RESULTS Of 93,290 women American veterans receiving care at VA medical facilities during 2000, 68.4% were at least overweight (body mass index [BMI]> or =25 kg/m(2)), with 37.4% classified as obese (BMI> or =30 kg/m(2)), and 6.0% as class-III obese (BMI> or =40 kg/m(2)). Of 1,710,032 men, 73.0% were at least overweight, 32.9% were obese, and 3.3% were class-III obese. Among women, obesity prevalence increased into the sixth and seventh decade of life before prevalence began to decline. Among men, prevalence was lowest for those aged <30 and >70. By race/ethnicity, Native American women (40.7%) and men (35.1%) had the highest prevalence of obesity, while Asian-American women (12.8%) and men (20.6%) had the lowest. CONCLUSIONS There is a substantial burden of obesity among veterans using VA medical facilities. A comprehensive approach for weight management by the Veterans Health Administration is needed.

[1]  K. Kizer,et al.  The VA health care system: an unrecognized national safety net. , 1997, Health affairs.

[2]  M. E. Smith,et al.  The Department of Veterans Affairs medical care system and the people it serves. , 1996, Medical care.

[3]  N. Kressin,et al.  Agreement between administrative data and patients' self-reports of race/ethnicity. , 2003, American journal of public health.

[4]  J. Racoosin,et al.  Consensus development conference on antipsychotic drugs and obesity and diabetes: response to consensus statement. , 2004, Diabetes care.

[5]  M. Rowland,et al.  Self-reported weight and height. , 1990, The American journal of clinical nutrition.

[6]  A. Must,et al.  Overweight, obesity, and associated disease burden in the Veterans Affairs ambulatory care population. , 2003, Military medicine.

[7]  E. Finkelstein,et al.  National medical spending attributable to overweight and obesity: how much, and who's paying? , 2003, Health affairs.

[8]  G. O. Lignac.  [Actual causes of death]. , 1951, Nederlands tijdschrift voor geneeskunde.

[9]  H. Bosworth,et al.  Relationship between obesity and health-related quality of life in men. , 2002, Obesity research.

[10]  G. Colditz,et al.  The disease burden associated with overweight and obesity. , 1999, JAMA.

[11]  J. Manson,et al.  Annual deaths attributable to obesity in the United States. , 1999, JAMA.

[12]  K. Flegal,et al.  Prevalence and trends in obesity among US adults, 1999-2000. , 2002, JAMA.

[13]  F Vinicor,et al.  The continuing epidemics of obesity and diabetes in the United States. , 2001, JAMA.

[14]  McGinnis Jm,et al.  Actual causes of death in the United States. , 1993 .

[15]  R. Sturm,et al.  The effects of obesity, smoking, and drinking on medical problems and costs. , 2002, Health affairs.

[16]  J. Garrett,et al.  The Natural History of the Development of Obesity in a Cohort of Young U.S. Adults between 1981 and 1998 , 2002, Annals of Internal Medicine.

[17]  P M Layde,et al.  Are patients at Veterans Affairs medical centers sicker? A comparative analysis of health status and medical resource use. , 2000, Archives of internal medicine.

[18]  J. Gerberding,et al.  Actual causes of death in the United States, 2000. , 2004, JAMA.

[19]  J. Hughes.  Can the Veterans Affairs Health Care System Continue to Care for the Poor and Vulnerable? , 2003, The Journal of ambulatory care management.