Dietary Trends Correlating with Obesity

Overview

Obesity is a disease that is prevalent in the United States. This disease may create future health risk down
the road for individuals who have obesity. Some of these health risks may be conditions like type 2
diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). For the
public health, it is extremely important to understand and learn about obesity and it’s causes. Reported by
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a survey conducted called Youth Risk Behavior Survey
(YRBS) collected representative data of ninth to twelfth grade students across the United States. This
survey portrays the representative percentages of students who had obesity and student’s dietary
behaviors. Overall, the data suggests there are some dietary trends that appear to impact obesity rates.

Obesity Trend

Throughout the years, obesity has been increasing.

The YBRS survey shows the trends of obesity
throughout the years from 1999 to 2017. The
percentage of obesity from 1999 to 2017 has
significantly been increasing (Figure 1). In the
beginning of 1999, obesity was around 10.6% while
in 2017 it increased to 14.8%. This data represents
over the years, the percent of young adults who had
obesity was increasing. This further emphasizes the
need to understand the trends that may correlate with
obesity. Figure 1. Obesity Trends Among 9th - 12th Grade Students
in the United States from 1999 to 2017. SOURCE: Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, YRBS Survey
Dietary Trend – Milk

Dietary trends may have an influence on this

Figure 2. Dietary Trends of Milk and Obesity Among 9-12th
Grade Students in the United States from 1999 to 2017.
SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, YRBS Survey
obesity epidemic. Data collected from the YRBS
survey shows across the years the students who
drank three or more glasses of milk per day and
those who did not drink milk seven days prior to
the survey (Figure 2). Comparing the trend of
students who did not drink milk to the obesity
trends, they both increase. Whereas, when the
trend for students who drank milk decreases over
the years, obesity correspondingly increases.
When analyzing the dietary trend of milk
alongside obesity, the data suggests whether
students drink milk or not it correlates with
obesity. The data suggests that when milk is not
included in the dietary behaviors of some
students, obesity is more frequent.
Dietary Trend – Vegetables

There are other possible dietary trends that may

correlate with the obesity trends over the years.
Another dietary trend that may impact obesity could
be vegetables eaten. The YRBS survey also measured
the number of students who did not eat vegetables
from the years 1999 to 2017(Figure 3). There was a
significant increase over the years of the percent of
students who did not eat vegetables. In 1999, 4.2
percent of students did not eat vegetables, whereas
in 2017, 7.2 percent of students did not eat
vegetables. Comparing this trend to the obesity data,
as the students who did not eat vegetables
increased, the obesity over the years also increased.
In the years where more students did not eat Figure 3. Students Who Did Not Eat Vegetables and Obesity Trends
vegetables, obesity prevalence was higher. Among 9-12th Grade Students in the United States from 1999 to 2017
SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, YRBS Survey
Moreover, vegetables may be a dietary trend that
correlates with obesity rates.

Conclusion

As obesity has been increasing over the years, it is very important to understand the dietary trends that could
help decrease obesity among the youth. Decreasing obesity across the United States, could possibly combat
other health risks that coincide with it like heart disease or type 2 diabetes. Looking at the dietary trends with
the obesity prevalence among the years, there are possible correlations to what could influence obesity in
ninth to twelfth graders. One possible factor that may contribute to obesity could be vegetables eaten by
these students. When more students over the years did not eat vegetables, in the same years, obesity became
more prevalent among the students. Similarly, as more of the students who did not drink milk increased,
obesity rates increased. These data results portray the possible contributions and correlations dietary trends
could have on obesity prevalence. The results and correlations of this data can help improve the strategies
and research on obesity which could ultimately provide more beneficial resources and projects to combat this
epidemic.

References:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, April 7). About Obesity. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/about-
obesity/index.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Trends in the Prevalence of Obesity and Dietary Behaviors
National YRBS: 1991–2017. From
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/trends/2017_obesity_trend_yrbs.pdf