Theories abound about what is behind our nation’s obesity epidemic—too many carbs, too much fast food, too little exercise. There are an equal number of purported solutions, from fad diets to life-altering gastric surgeries. While the idea that simply overeating is accepted today among many as the cause of obesity, a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine suggests that under-exercising, rather than overeating, may be at the root of the problem.
The researchers analyzed data collected by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1988 to 2010, which contained information about obesity, abdominal obesity, caloric intake, and physical activity over that time span. The prevalence of obesity increased by 10 percentage points in women, from 25% to 35%, and 15 percentage points in men, from 20% to 35%.
Exercise During Free Time Drops Dramatically
The researchers also found that the amount of time spent exercising dramatically decreased over the course of the two decades. The number of survey participants reporting doing no exercise at all in their free time increased from 19% to 52% in women and 11% to 43% in men. Additionally, based on self-reports by participants, the researchers found that people didn’t seem to be ingesting more calories in 2010 as they did in 1988. These results led them to suspect that a decline in physical activity may be the root of our nation’s rise in obesity over the last couple of decades.
Obesity Is a Complex Problem
It’s likely that a culmination of changes over the last decades has led to our current obesity crisis, and there may not be a single magic bullet that will solve the problem. Rather, tackling obesity will require changes in several different areas, including food marketing, our food system, and our collective exercise habits.
Two things are certain: exercise is important, at the very least for cardiovascular and bone health; and whole, unprocessed foods are simply better for our bodies. Encouraging exercise and healthy food choices in the workplace, where the majority of Americans spend much of their time, is therefore an important part of a comprehensive employee wellness program.