Thanks to the power of connected devices, Withings is able to provide a national health observatory accessible to the general public. Using real-time data, this tool allows us to track the prevalence of key risk factors linked to lifestyle: sedentary behavior, overweight and obesity, and high blood pressure.
The observatory invites you to discover exclusive data and information gathered from the Withings community. Which American states are most affected by sedentary behaviors or by overweight and obesity? Are all age groups affected? Check out the informative graphs and charts of the Withings Health Observatory to learn more about health behaviors and different lifestyles across the US.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than one billion adults worldwide are overweight or obese. The WHO estimates that overweight and obesity are responsible for 44% of diabetes cases, 23% of instances of ischemic heart disease and 7 to 41% of certain cancers. Excess weight is therefore one of the five main mortality causes, along with high blood pressure, tobacco use, hyperglycemia and a lack of physical inactivity1.
In this context, it is necessary to increase general awareness about this subject. To contribute to this objective, Withings has created a real-time observatory of the body mass index (BMI) of Americans.
Overweight and obesity are defined by an excess accumulation of fat in the body, due to an imbalance between caloric intake and energy expenditure. This excess concentration of body fat is associated with a number of cardiovascular problems, cancers, and chronic diseases such as diabetes.
The body mass index (BMI) is a body fat measurement defined as the ratio between a person's weight and the square of his or her height, generally expressed in kg/m2. BMI is the most widely used measure for determining whether a given population suffers from overweight and obesity, as the same thresholds may be used for all adults, men or women.
In our dashboards, we follow the WHO classification for BMI levels. Therefore, adults with a BMI equal or superior to 25 kg/m2 are considered overweight or obese. For more details about the definitions we use, please visit our section on data protection policies and definitions used.
1. World Health Organization. Global health risks - Mortality and burden of disease attributable to selected major risks. 2009.
Scroll down to discover the statistics on
overweight and obesity
Worldwide, the number of people affected by overweight and obesity has doubled since 1980. In 2008, this figure reached 1.4 billion people1
44% of diabetes cases, 23% of coronary heart diseases, and 7 to 41% of certain cancers are attributable to overweight and obesity2
The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) estimates that around $147 billion of medical costs are associated with obesity in the United States3
Weight loss reduces the blood pressure as well as triglycerides levels in the blood, and increases the HDL ("good cholesterol"), in subjects affected by obesity4
Excess abdominal fat is particularly harmful for health, as fatty abdominal tissues decrease insulin sensitivity. Developing an insulin resistance may cause type 2 diabetes
A study estimates at 13% increased risk for women and a 17% increased risk for men to suffer from early mortality due to a 5 cm gain in waist circumference5
Physical activity is an effective way of fighting against obesity: according to a clinical study, by increasing daily walking distances by 1 km, the risk of obesity would decrease by 5%6
1. World Health Organization. Obesity and overweight - Fact sheet No 311. 2014.
2. World Health Organization. Global health risks - Mortality and burden of disease attributable to selected major risks. 2009.
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What causes overweight and obesity? 2012.
4. National Institutes of Health Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults. 1998.
5. Pischon T et al. General and Abdominal Adiposity and Risk of Death in Europe. N Engl J Med, 359:2105-20, 2008.
6. Frank LD et al. Obesity relationships with community design, physical activity, and time spent in cars. Am J Prev Med, 27(2):87-96, 2004.
Withings guarantees the confidentiality of personal data and protects the privacy of all its users. Our ethical commitments relative to the confidentiality of data are specified in detail in our privacy policy.
All data used by the Withings Health Observatory are permanently anonymized and aggregated, built upon a pool of users having accepted the terms and conditions of use of Withings services.
In order to avoid reidentification of individual data, the data aggregation satisfies a minimum threshold relative to the size of each aggregate: if the number of units in each studied class is inferior to the minimum threshold, the corresponding data is excluded and replaced by "N/A". 0 is displayed as a valid numerical data.
Physical activity level classes used are: Sedentary - number of daily steps < 4000 ; A bit active - 4000 ≤ number of daily steps < 7000 ; Moderately active - 7000 ≤ number of daily steps < 10000 ; Active - number of daily steps ≥ 10000.
BMI (Body Mass Index) classes used are those defined by the World Health Organization: Underweight - BMI < 18.5 kg/m2 ; Normal - 18.5 ≤ BMI < 25 kg/m2 ; Overweight - 25 ≤ BMI < 30 kg/m2 ; Moderate obesity - 30 ≤ BMI < 35 kg/m2 ; Severe obesity - 40 ≤ BMI < 40 kg/m2 ; Morbid obesity - BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2. Therefore, the prevalence of overweight and obesity corresponds to the percentage of subjects with a BMI greater than or equal to 25 kg/m2.
Blood pressure classes used are those defined by the American Heart Association: Hypotension - systolic pressure < 90 mmHg / diastolic pressure < 60 mmHg ; Normal - 90 ≤ systolic pressure < 120 mmHg / 60 ≤ diastolic pressure < 80 mmHg ; Prehypertension - 120 ≤ systolic pressure < 140 mmHg / 80 ≤ diastolic pressure < 90 mmHg ; Hypertension - systolic pressure ≥ 140 mmHg / diastolic pressure ≥ 90 mmHg.