About 35 percent of adults in the United States were considered as obese based on the 2011-2012 survey of the National Center for Health Statistics. The figures are slightly down but not significantly different from the numbers in 2009-2010.
The percentage translates to 78 million adults in the country are considered as obese, 50 million of which were non-Hispanic White. The NCHS Data Brief was released this month by the team led by epidemiology expert Dr. Cynthia Ogden.
The same report showed the prevalence of obesity in men to have dropped by a notch from 35.5 percent three years ago to 33.5 percent in the newest survey. In women, obesity prevalence is pegged at 36.1 percent, slightly higher from the 2009-2010 figure of 35.8 percent.
For the male population, the highest obesity prevalence is in the 40 to 59-year age group followed by people in their 60s or older (32 percent) and those 20 to 39 years (29 percent). Among women, the disparity between age groups were not significant with 39.5 percent for females 40 to 59 years old and 38.1 percent for those 60 or older.
Middle aged adults had the highest rate of obesity at 39.5 percent, older adults at 35.4 percent, and younger ones at 30.3 percent.
The obesity rate among adults was highest for black adults at 47.8 percent followed by Hispanics at 42.5 percent. Whites has a 32.6 percent obesity rate while Asians had the lowest prevalence at 10.8 percent.
"Even though it looks like a slight drop in the percentage of adults who are obese, this difference is not statistically significant. This is more evidence that we're not seeing a change in adult obesity," said Ogden in an interview with USA Today.
Proponents of the study looked into the 2011-2012 data of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey that has been used as the standard in studying the obesity epidemic in the country. The survey collected objective measurements of height and weight of people instead of relying on reported measurements.
The new study did not include the prevalence of obesity among adolescents and children.
Obesity is determined by computing the body mass index or BMI of an individual. This takes into consideration ones weight and height. Adults with a BMI of 30 or higher are considered obese.
Health problems such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, degenerative joint disease, and other medical conditions, arise from obesity.
