America’s Weight Status
By 2030, half of American adults are projected to have obesity.
By 2030, approximately half of the U.S. adult population will be obese, and a quarter will have severe obesity. This stark statement comes from a study in the New England Journal of Medicine (2019; 381, 2440–50) and is based on body mass index data from more than 6.2 million adults surveyed in 1993–1994 and 1999–2016.
Harvard University researchers who analyzed the data determined that several states are likely to have an obesity rate of 60%, while even the lowest rates among states will approach 40%. Researchers predict that “severe obesity will likely be most common among women, non–Hispanic black adults and those with annual incomes below $50,000 per year.”
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA, is an internationally acknowledged integrative health and mindfulness specialist, best-selling author of 16 fitness and wellness books translated into multiple languages and sold worldwide, award-winning health journalist, contributing editor to Fitness Journal, media spokesperson, and IDEA's 2008 Fitness Instructor of the Year. She's a 25-year industry veteran and former health and fitness educator at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who has served on multiple industry committees and co-authored trade books and manuals for ACE, ACSM and YMCA of the USA. She has appeared on TV worldwide and was a featured trainer on America's Next Top Model.
