Who Attempts to Lose Weight in the US? A 6-question Quiz

October 2, 2018

Sample: Between 2013 and 2016, what percentage, overall, of US adults tried to lose weight in the past 12 months?

According to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), the prevalence of obesity in 2015-2016 among US adults was nearly 40% and affected approximately 93.3 million persons. A new NCHS Data Brief summarizes National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2013-2016 findings that describe attempts by US adults to lose weight in the past year by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin, family income, and weight status.

The encouraging news is that, overall, approximately 67% of adults with obesity (BMI ≥30) and about half (49%) of overweight adults (BMI ≥25 and <30) reported trying to lose weight over the 12 months before taking the survey.

What do you know about other characteristics of US adults who have made an effort to lose weight? Find out with this short (6-question) quiz on the NHANES data.

Question 1. Between 2013 and 2016, what percentage, overall, of US adults tried to lose weight in the past 12 months?

Answer: C. ~49%. Nearly half (49.1%) of US adults tried to lose weight in the past 12 months between 2013 and 2016.

Question 2. In which age group was the effort to lose weight highest?

Answer: B. Middle-aged adults, aged 40 to 59 years. Among adults aged 40-59 years, 52.4% tried to lose weight during the past year vs 42.7% of older adults and 49.7% of younger adults.

Question 6. Among women who tried to lose weight, the percentage was lowest in which group?

Answer: B. Non-Hispanic Asian women. Approximately 45% of non-Hispanic Asian women attempted to lose weight during the previous 12 months vs 56.9% of non-Hispanic white women and 56.4% of non-Hispanic black women.

Question 4. True or false? The percentage of men who tried to lose weight was lower among non-Hispanic black men vs non-Hispanic white men.

Answer: A. True. The percentage of non-Hispanic black men (37.9%) who tried to lose weight was lower vs the percentage of non-Hispanic white men (42.1%).

Question 5. Which of the above options describes the impact of family income on percentage of adults who tried to lose weight?

Answer: B. Overall, more adults with higher family income (>350% FPL) vs those with middle family income (>130% to ≤ 350% FPL) tried to lose weight. Approximately 54% of adults with higher family income tried to lose weight in the past 12 months vs 48.7% of adults with middle family income and 42.9% of adults with lower family income.

Question 6. The 2 most common ways to lose weight reported by adults who made the effort were which of the above?

Answer: C. Exercising and eating less food. The most common ways to lose weight reported by adults were exercising (62.9%) and eating less food (62.9%), followed by eating more fruits, vegetables, and salads (50.4%), drinking lots of water (44.7%), and eating less junk food and fast food (42.4%).

Reference: Martin CB, Herrick KA, Sarafrazi N, Ogden CL. Attempts to lose weight among adults in the United States, 2013-2016. NCHS Data Brief, no 313. Hyatsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2018.