US OBESITY RATE UP 40% IN TWO DECADES

(02/29/2020)

A new government survey finds that about 40% of American adults are obese, and nearly 1 in 10 is severely obese. Those findings were released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They come from a 2017-2018 health survey that measures height and weight. More than 5,000 U.S. adults took part. The survey found the obesity rate was 42% — higher than the 40% found in a similar 2015-16 study. The severe obesity rate was more than 9% in the new survey, up from the 8% figure in the previous one. The increases aren’t considered statistically significant. The survey numbers are small enough that there’s a mathematical chance the rates didn’t truly rise. One obesity expert says the findings suggest that more Americans will get diabetes, heart disease and cancer. He also says it will be increasingly difficult for doctors to care for so many severely obese people. The obesity rate has risen about 40% in the last two decades. The severe obesity rate has doubled over that time.

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