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• Posted September 24, 2024

Four in Every 10 U.S. Adults Is Now Obese; Severe Obesity Rising

Over 40 percent of U.S. adults are now obese, with rates roughly the same for men and women, new government data shows.

Obesity rates fluctuated with age and fell as levels of education increased, said the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The only good news: The rate of adult obesity did not change between 2013 and 2023, said a team led by Samuel Emmerich, an epidemiologist at the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.

Obesity was defined as a BMI of 30 or above. For example, a person 5-foot 10-inches tall with a weight of 210 pounds has BMI of 30. So does a 5-foot-6 person weighing 185 lbs.

Rates of severe obesity have risen among U.S. adults, however.

In 2013, 7.7% of adults were severely obese, but that number jumped to 9.7% 10 years later.

According to the CDC, severe obesity begins at a BMI of 40, equivalent to a 5-foot-10-inch person weighing 280 lbs.

The peak time for obesity was middle age: 46.4% of adults ages 40 to 59 were obese, compared to 35.5% of those aged 20 to 39 and 38.9% of those over the age of 60, the report found. Similar trends were seen among people with severe obesity.

While 44.6% of adults with only a high school degree were obese, that number fell to 31.6% for those with a college degree.

The bottom line, according to the NCHS team: "In the United States, the prevalence of obesity in adults remains above the Healthy People 2030 goal of 36.0%, but from 2013–2014 through August 2021–August 2023, the age-adjusted prevalence of obesity in adults did not change significantly."

More information

Find out more on healthy weight control at the American Heart Association.

SOURCE: NCHS Data Brief, Sept. 24, 2024