Category: Overweight

Obesity – Americans still growing, but not as fast

New data in the latest Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) from NCHS statisticians show that the increasing rate of obesity may be slowing, although the prevalence of adults who are obese is still high. The numbers from 2007-2008 show that 33.8% of U.S. adults are obese (32.2% for men, 35.5% for women). The Read More >

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Obesity information-it starts with the letters NHANES

Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released information concerning the prevalence and costs of the growing epidemic of obesity in the United States. Some of the most critical information concerning the weight of the nation is collected in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which takes actual measurements of a Read More >

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Underweight older adults, children decrease in U.S.

Poor nutrition or underlying health conditions can sometimes cause a person to be underweight. Data from the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) showed that an estimated 1.8% of U.S. adults are underweight. Between 1988-1994 and 2003-2006, a statistically significant decrease in the percentage of those underweight was found only among those aged Read More >

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Report card for Nation’s health focuses on young adults aged 18-29

Young adults in the United States aged 18-29 face a number of health challenges, including increases in obesity, high injury rates, and a lack of insurance coverage compared to other adults, according to the latest report on the nation’s health from NCHS. Obesity rates have tripled among young adults in the past three decades, rising Read More >

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New Health E-Stat integrates obesity and overweight prevalence data

Results from the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), using measured heights and weights, indicate that an estimated 32.7 percent of U.S. adults 20 years and older are overweight, 34.3 percent are obese and 5.9 percent are extremely obese. Additional data as well as figures and tables can be found by visiting the Read More >

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New height, weight, and BMI tables available

This report presents national anthropometric reference data for all ages of the U.S. population in 2003–2006, adding to results published previously from 1960–2002. These latest NHANES data add to the knowledge about trends in child growth and development and trends in the distribution of body measurements, such as weight and height, in the U.S. population. Read More >

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Mean height and weight of children

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey has studied the height and weight of Americans for decades. Tables documenting the increase in both height and weight for children and adolescents aged 2-19 since 1963 can be found here. Read More >

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America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being

Last Friday we released the 10th anniversary edition of America’s Children, a product of the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. The Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics (Forum) is a collection of 22 Federal government agencies involved in research and activities related to children and families. The Forum was founded Read More >

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More Obesity Resources

We’ve written a couple of times on the subject of overweight and obesity. However, some of our research has been published in scholarly journals rather than on our website. The journal Obesity: Racial and Ethnic Differences in Secular Trends for Childhood BMI, Weight, and Height The journal Gastroenterology: The Epidemiology of Obesity. More data on Read More >

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Morbid Obesity

Overweight and obesity data collected by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for the National Center for Health Statistics show obesity increasing among Americans of all ages. Obesity is defined as having a body mass index  (BMI) of 30 or greater. There is a subset of obesity called morbid or extreme obesity which is defined Read More >

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Overweight and obesity

The National Center for Health Statistics provides the “gold standard” for the study of overweight and obesity through the data produced by its National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Unlike some surveys which are conducted by telephone and rely upon self-reported height/weight information, the NHANES provides height and weight data acquired in a clinical setting. Read More >

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