CDC Data Indicates Slight Fall in US Adult Obesity Rate, But Higher Than in 2013

File photo of an obese person. Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images

The prevalence of obesity among U.S. adults slightly dropped last year, but it remained a major health issue, with the rate still higher than in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Published Sept. 24, data from the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which involved a 5,929 sample size, showed obesity prevalence among U.S. adults aged 20 and older was 40.3 percent during the 2021–2023 period.

This indicated a slight decline from the 41.9 percent found during the 2017–2020 period, although the change is too small to be deemed statistically significant, especially given the larger sample size of 8,295.

The recent figure remains higher than the 37.7 percent recorded in the 2013–2014 period. The CDC defined obesity as a body mass index (BMI) of greater than or equal to 30.

“In the United States, the prevalence of obesity in adults remains above the Healthy People 2030 goal of 36 percent, but from 2013–2014 through August 2021–August 2023, the age-adjusted prevalence of obesity in adults did not change significantly,” the report stated.

Obesity prevalence was highest among adults aged 40 to 59 years old at 46.4 percent, compared to 35.5 percent in those aged 20 to 39 years old. The prevalence rate for adults aged 60 and older was 35.5 percent.

The data showed that severe obesity, defined by the CDC as “a BMI of greater than or equal to 40,” was increasing in the United States and the prevalence was higher among women than men.

The prevalence of severe obesity for the 2021–2023 period was 9.7 percent, up from 9.2 percent in the 2017–2020 period. This also marked an increase from the 7.7 percent recorded between 2013 and 2014.

The prevalence of severe obesity among women was higher at 12.1 percent compared to 6.7 percent among men across all age groups, according to the CDC data.

The CDC also found that obesity rates varied by education. About 31.6 percent of people with a bachelor’s degree or higher reported having obesity, compared with 45 percent of those with some college or a high school diploma or less.

The new report follows the release of data of obesity rates in U.S. states and territories, which showed that more than one in three adults, or 35 percent, has obesity in 23 states last year.

According to the data, only the District of Columbia and Colorado had an obesity prevalence of less than 25 percent. West Virginia recorded the highest obesity prevalence rate at 41.2 percent last year.

The CDC stated that before 2013, no state had an adult obesity prevalence exceeding 35 percent. Karen Hacker, director of CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, said the report highlighted the need for obesity prevention and treatment options.

“Obesity prevention at young ages is critical, because we know that children with obesity often become adults with obesity,” Hacker said in a statement on Sept. 12.

Ruth Petersen, director of CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, emphasized the importance of understanding the factors that contribute to obesity to identify prevention and treatment strategies.

“Obesity is a complex disease. There’s a common misconception that obesity is a result of lack of willpower and individual failings to eat well and exercise,” Petersen stated.

“Many factors contribute to obesity like genes, certain medications, poor sleep, gut microbiome, stress, access to affordable food, safe places to be active, and access to health care.”

Study Group Proposes New Treatment Guideline

A new treatment guideline published by the European Association for the Study of Obesity in July challenges current guidelines on treating obesity.

The authors proposed that rather than focusing on the BMI score alone to qualify for medications and surgery, high abdominal fat accumulation in people with lower BMI scores should also receive these kinds of treatments for obesity.

Obesity diagnoses are based “solely on BMI cut-off values,” but do not take into consideration the distribution of body fat and the role that plays in the severity of the disease, the statement said. It added that this new recommendation challenges body measurement criteria as the sole component of the obesity diagnosis.

The accumulation of body fat is associated with an increased risk of conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes, and is a stronger cause of disease than high BMI—even in people with levels lower than the standard measure of obesity, a BMI of 30, the statement said.

Huey Freeman and the Associated Press contributed to this report.