5 Frightening Facts About Obesity In The US
America's bad reputation for obesity is not getting any better.
The CDC just released the latest obesity data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey - the 2011-2012 year. The survey examines about 5,000 people each year and asks a series of socio-economic and health-related questions and includes a physical exam, giving us a frightening look at just how fat Americans really are.
The CDC defined obesity as individuals having a body mass index greater than or equal to 30. Body mass index is calculated by weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared.
Here are five most worrying facts:
1. Almost 35% of adults in the U.S. are obese.
2. Obesity rates were higher among middle-aged adults (40 to 59-years-old) than younger adults (20 to 39-year-olds) or older adults (60-years-old and over).
3. There was no real difference in obesity rates between men and women.
You can see the breakdown of obesity rates by age and gender in the chart below:
4. Black Americans had the highest obesity rates (about 48%), while Asian Americans had the lowest (about 11%).
You can see the obesity rates among different races in the chart below:
The CDC found there was no decrease in obesity rate from the 2009-2010 survey to the 2011-2012 survey.
The chart below shows that rates have been steadily getting worse since the 1980s:
