One in four New Yorkers is considered obese, according to the city’s Health Department. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The city’s obesity rate among adults has soared 25 percent since Mayor Michael Bloomberg took office nearly 12 years ago, city health department figures reveal.
One in five New Yorkers was considered obese in 2002, the New York Postreported. Today, almost one in four New Yorkers is considered obese.
The increase comes despite Bloomberg’s ban on trans fats in 2007. The mayor also fought to limit the size of sugary drinks to 16 ounces.
The rates may improve, however, as a result of other positive statistics. The percentage of adults who drink one or more sugar-sweetened beverages a day dropped to 28 percent last year from 36 percent in 2007, according to a health department report.
More adults are physically active and eating more vegetables, the data also shows.
“Nationwide, adult obesity rates have been going up for at least the last 30 years, and we expect a lag in changes in the adult obesity rate after a change in diet,” a department spokeswoman said. “We are seeing declines in obesity in children, and [the] fall in sugary-drink consumption may have prevented our city from having even higher obesity rates.”
