Prevalence of Overweight, Obesity, and Extreme Obesity Among Adults: United States, Trends 1960-1962 Through 2009-2010

Expressed as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared (kg/m 2 ), is commonly used to classify overweight (BMI 25.0–29.9), obesity (BMI greater than or equal to 30.0), and extreme obesity (BMI greater than or equal to 40.0). One of the national health objectives for the Healthy People 2020 initiative is to reduce the prevalence of obesity among adults by 10.0%, to 30.6%. NHANES 2009–2010 data for adults aged 20 and over suggest an increase in obesity between the late 1980s and today in the United States, with the estimated age-adjusted prevalence moving upward from a previous level of 23.0% in NHANES III (1988–1994) to approximately 36.0% in 2009–2010. Among women, however, no significant change…