Obesity Increases Among Adults

Rates Reach an All-Time High 

The United States will not be solving the obesity epidemic anytime soon. According to a CNN report, nearly 40 percent of adults and 19 percent of youth are obese, the highest rate the country has ever seen in all adults. The numbers come from research by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Since 1999, there has been a staggering rise in the prevalence of obesity, particularly in adults, without any signs of it slowing down. The research shows a 30 percent increase in adult obesity and 33 percent increase in youth obesity when comparing data from 1999–2000 and 2015–2016, despite government-focused efforts to address the issue.

Hispanic adults had an obesity rate of 47 percent and Black adults a rate of 46.8 percent in 2015–16, with Caucasian adults at 37.9 percent and Asian adults at 12.7 percent.

Among youths, Hispanics and Blacks also had higher rates of obesity, at 25.8 percent and 22 percent respectively, compared with 14 percent of Caucasians and 11 percent of Asians.