Obese Outnumber the Overweight in the US

More than 50% of Americans age ≥25 years are overweight or obese: Men – 75%; women – 66% , vs data from 1988-1994: Men – 63%; women – 55%.

Weight groups in the study were defined by body mass index: underweight (

African-Americans have the highest rates of obesity, with 39 percent of black men and 57 percent of black women considered obese; 17 percent of black women are extremely obese, meaning their body mass index is over 40, as are 7 percent of black men.

Obesity in Women White 34%; Black 57%; >17% of women, BMI ≥40; compared with similar data from 1988-1994: “The greatest increase in the proportion of patients in the obesity class 3 category (BMI ≥40) was among non-Hispanic black women.”

Weight Status Distribution for Adults ≥ 25 Yrs, 2007-2012 Table source, here.

“Our estimates are very close to CDC’s estimates [of overweight and obesity], and there is clearly not a trend of decline on the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States…Thus, we strengthen the case for implementing policies and practices that span multiple sections and [are] designed to combat overweight and obesity. This will need a political will to support multi-level approaches through individual, health professional, community, environment and policy engagement to address this epidemic as a whole.”