Obesity Decreasing Slightly In America, Survey Finds

A recent Gallup poll shows a little bit of good news with regard to America's obesity epidemic: Obesity rates are decreasing slightly across most demographic groups, unlike the last two years.

More people are normal weight than overweight in the United States (36.6 percent, compared with 35.8 percent), a phenomenon that hasn't occurred in more than three years. However, when you add together the number of Americans who are overweight AND the number who are obese, that number is still extremely high -- at 61.6 percent -- and is greater than the number of normal weight Americans.

Overweight is defined as having a body mass index (BMI, a ratio of weight to height) of 25 to 29.9, while obese is defined as having a BMI of 30 or above. Normal weight is defined as having a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9.

Click through this slideshow for more on the obesity of certain demographics in the U.S., from most obese to least obese.

Comments

[sharonbaker]

03:57 AM on 11/23/2011

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[hlmhoover]

08:36 PM on 10/17/2011

i think it has more to do with no money to eat with than worrying about our weight.

[StrawHat]

05:38 AM on 10/16/2011

I work with a teeny-tiny Vietnamese immigrant gal that buys a venti blended coffee EVERY morning.

Her demographic isn't going to stay at 11% obese if they start eating/drinking like the rest of us.

I wish her well, but that sugar/fat/caffeine bomb isn't going to help her maintain her adorable figure.

[Joyce Wade]

07:42 AM on 10/12/2011

Just goes to show you that a Gallup poll can (falsely) "prove" anything. Don't believe everything you read. Take a look around you America, we are just getting fatter and fatter.

[mkthinker]

09:43 AM on 10/11/2011

"Obesity has decreased by 0.8 percent from last year, by 0.8 percent." - no. Ok- I need to go read something else. I'm serious about the editing job though.

[mkthinker]

09:41 AM on 10/11/2011

"Whites" are not an income group. If you guys want to pay me to be an editor I'm willing to consider it.

[Samual Warn]

01:24 AM on 10/11/2011

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[nancynancy]

11:37 AM on 10/10/2011

This study is meaningless! Asking people to tell you how much they weigh is a notoriously poor method of determining whether or not they are overweight. Americans may simply be more likely to lie about their weight than they were the last time the study was conducted.

[Steven Barnes]

11:14 AM on 10/10/2011

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[FreeDietSource]

06:22 PM on 10/09/2011

Maybe people are starting to realize the issues this country faces with obesity problems. There are lots of ways to lose weight you just need to find what works for you. Do research because there are lots of diets that don't work. Doing your search will lead you to what will work for you. http://www.freedietsource.com

[syllcurie]

05:03 AM on 10/09/2011

Many obese people are either in denial, out of touch with reality, or simply do not care. That is, until they face a major health crisis (obesity related,) and then they expect the government to take care of them. In such a case, a pound or prevention is worth a ton of cure.

[StrawHat]

05:40 AM on 10/16/2011

Actually, most of them have been on 100+ diets and have (for the moment) given up because they know that nothing they have tried (beginning in junior high school or even in elementary school) will cut through the endless, distressing, painful cravings.

[Miz Fit]

03:15 AM on 10/09/2011

Maybe Americans are losing weight because many can't afford food anymore.

[icyrebel]

02:42 AM on 10/09/2011

yeah, cause no one can afford to buy food anymore...

[navybrush]

01:46 AM on 10/09/2011

I am slightly underweight, on the border of underweight and normal. I think most of the discussion is focused on overweight people, but underweight people have health concerns too. I find it extremely difficult to gain weight.

[DrP]

11:00 PM on 10/08/2011

The LCHF and Paleo movements are finally having an effect! Hallelujah!