According to a recent study conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only in Washington, D.C., the rate is still less than 25 percent, and in 5 other member states it does not reach 30 percent. This includes California, Colorado, and some northeastern states.
According to the report, about a third of the population suffers from obesity in most member states, a percentage exceeding 35 percent in 22 countries.
The percentage of people suffering from obesity is highest in the states of Oklahoma, Louisiana, and West Virginia, where they are close to half the population.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s research report also draws attention to 10 years ago, this rate did not exceed 35 percent anywhere in the United States.
The 2022 data also reveals that obesity is most common among African American adults, affecting 38 percent of them, while the index is 35 percent among Native Americans. Exactly one-third of Hispanic Americans fall into this category, while only 14% of white adults are obese.
When accounting for education level, 27% of highly educated American adults are obese, as are 35% of high school graduates, and even more, 37%, of non-high school graduates.
Among young people (aged 20 to 25 years), the index is 20 percent, while among those aged 45 to 54 years the percentage of obese people is twice that, almost 40 percent.
Obesity is defined based on the body mass index (BMI), where a value higher than 35 indicates obesity.
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