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6.1: Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity

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    Overweight and Obesity in the United States

    • More than 2 in 3 adults are considered to be overweight or obese.
    • More than 1 in 3 adults are considered to be obese.
    • More than 1 in 20 adults are considered to have extreme obesity.
    • About one-third of children and adolescents ages 6 to 19 are considered to be overweight or obese.
    • More than 1 in 6 children and adolescents ages 6 to 19 are considered to be obese.
    A pie graph that shows estimated percentages of adults with BMIs within specific ranges
    BMI

    According to the pie graph, 31.2 percent of adults had BMIs under 24.9 and so were considered normal weight or underweight. Another 33.1 percent had BMIs from 25 to 29.9, and so they were considered overweight. The group with BMIs of 30 or higher—people considered to have obesity—amounted to 35.7 percent. Those considered to have extreme obesity, with BMIs of 40 or higher, amounted to 6.3 percent.

    Estimated Percentage by Sex

    A bar graph that shows percentages of men and women within weight categories
    BMI2

    According to the bar graph, 74 percent of men had overweight or obesity; 64 percent of women had overweight or obesity. Equal percentages (36) of men and women had obesity. Among men, 4 percent had extreme obesity; the percentage among women was double that of men, at 8 percent.

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    6.1: Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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