Obese Outnumber the Overweight in the US
A new study estimates that 67.6 million Americans age >25 years are obese and an additional 65.2 million are overweight.
A new study published online on June 22 in JAMA Internal Medicine found that more than half the US population exceeds what is considered a healthy weight. In fact those who qualify as obese (BMI â¥30.0 now outnumber persons categorized as overweight (BMI, 25.0 to 29.9 ).The researchers, from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, put the number of overweight men at >36 million and women ~29 million. Another 32 million men and 36 million women are obese, the researchers found.The report used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey gathered between 2007 and 2012, involving more than 15,000 men and women age 25 and older.The slides above are a snapshot of the results which also highlight ethnic differences in the ongoing super-sizing of America. Â
References:
Yang L, Colditz GA. Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in the United States, 2007-2012 [research letter]. JAMA Intern Med. Published online June 22, 2015. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2015.2405
