Who's Gained Weight in Somerville in the Past Decade?

By Heather Martino

So, just how fat is Somerville? 

In the map above, you can look at obesity rates in Middlesex County. For instance, you'll see a county-wide obesity rate of 30.4 percent for men in 2011, and you can see the rate was only 20.2 percent for men in 2001.

Obesity in Massachusetts as a whole didn't increase as much during the same time period, though the difference was slim. Massachusetts had an 8.1 percentage point increase, for men, from 2001 to 2011.

Compared to neighboring Suffolk County, Middlesex is heavier overall, and it increased its overall girth more than our neighbors in Boston. Keep in mind, Middlesex County is the most populous county in Massachusetts, and communities like Somerville and Cambridge have more in common with Boston than, say, Framingham and Lowell.

The county figures on the map were obtained from a recent study from the University of Washington, which found that nationwide women are more obese than their male counterparts.

But men and women aren’t gaining weight at the same rate: In Suffolk County, men reported a 10.2 percentage point increase, while women’s obesity rates rose 8.4 percentage points from 2001-2011.

According to the CDC, obesity affects more than one-third of adults, or 35.7 percent of the population in the United States. Obesity is calculated by measuring a person’s height and weight, and deriving at a ratio called the body mass index, or BMI. This number often correlates to an individual’s amount of body fat, and is used to ascertain whether a person is considered underweight, a normal weight, overweight or obese.

Obese individuals have a 50-100 percent increased risk of premature death, and it’s estimated that obesity may be the cause of 300,000 deaths per year according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Interestingly, Americans claim to be exercising more during the same time period that obesity climbed. 

“Around the country, you can see huge increases in the percentage of people becoming physically active, which research tells us is certain to have health benefits,” said IHME Director Dr. Christopher Murray in a press release. Murray added that “If communities in the US can replicate this success and tackle the ongoing obesity impact, it will see more substantial health gains.”

The good news is that there may be silver lining to America’s fat epidemic. While we’re still getting fatter, at least it’s happening at a slower rate than in past years.