Adult Obesity Facts
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Obesity is common, serious and costly
- More than one-third (34.9% or 78.6 million) of U.S. adults are obese. [Read abstract Journal of American Medicine (JAMA)]
- Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of preventable death. [Read guidelines]
- The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was $147 billion in 2008 U.S. dollars; the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight. [Read summary]
Obesity affects some groups more than others
[Read abstract Journal of American Medicine (JAMA)]
Obesity Prevalence Maps
Adult obesity prevalence by state and territory using self-reported information from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
- Non-Hispanic blacks have the highest age-adjusted rates of obesity (47.8%) followed by Hispanics (42.5%), non-Hispanic whites (32.6%), and non-Hispanic Asians (10.8%)
- Obesity is higher among middle age adults, 40-59 years old (39.5%) than among younger adults, age 20-39 (30.3%) or adults over 60 or above (35.4%) adults.
Obesity and socioeconomic status
[Read CDC National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) data brief [PDF-1.07MB]
- Among non-Hispanic black and Mexican-American men, those with higher incomes are more likely to have obesity than those with low income.
- Higher income women are less likely to have obesity than low-income women.
- There is no significant relationship between obesity and education among men. Among women, however, there is a trend—those with college degrees are less likely to have obesity compared with less educated women.
- Page last reviewed: September 21, 2015
- Page last updated: September 21, 2015
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