CDC: Prevalence of Obesity 42.4 Percent in 2017 to 2018

THURSDAY, Feb. 27, 2020 -- The prevalence of obesity was 42.4 percent among U.S. adults in 2017 to 2018, according to a February data brief published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics.

Craig M. Hales, M.D., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, and colleagues used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to describe the prevalence of obesity and severe obesity among adults by sex, age, and race and Hispanic origin.

The researchers found that the age-adjusted prevalence of obesity was 42.4 percent in adults in 2017 to 2018, with no significant differences seen between men and women or by age. The age-adjusted prevalence of severe obesity was 9.2 percent in adults and was higher in women than men (11.5 versus 6.9 percent). Compared with other race and Hispanic-origin groups, non-Hispanic blacks had the highest prevalence of both obesity and severe obesity. Adults aged 40 to 59 years had the highest prevalence of severe obesity compared with other age groups (11.5 percent). The prevalence of both obesity and severe obesity increased from 1999-2000 to 2017-2018.

"Monitoring the prevalence of obesity and severe obesity is relevant for public health programs that focus on reducing or preventing obesity and its consequences. In the United States, the prevalence of obesity among adults has moved further away from the Healthy People 2020 goal of 30.5 percent," the authors write.

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Posted: February 2020