Americans have grown fatter, shorter since 1999 — Data

WASHINGTON: Americans have got fatter over the past two decades, adding girth to their bellies and even growing fractionally shorter on average, according to federal health data released Thursday.

The report gave no specific reasons for the trends, which come as no surprise as the nation battles with an ongoing obesity epidemic and a record 40 percent of Americans are considered obese.

Average weight, waist circumference, and body mass index (BMI) in adults have increased over the past 18 years, said the report by the National Centre for Health Statistics.

“A significant linear increase in body weight was seen over time for both men and women,” said the report, based on data from physical exams on more than 47,000 people nationwide over the age of 20.

The average American man weighs 89.8 kilogrammes, according to the most recent year for which data is available, 2015-2016. That’s up eight pounds from 1999-2000, when the average male body weight was 86kg.

Women have packed on the pounds too, going from an average of 74kg in 1999 to 77kg in 18 years.

Men’s average waist size has crept from 99cm to 102cm, while women’s waists grew from 92 to 98 cm – in that time span.

American men today are slightly shorter: 175.6cm in 1999, and 175.4cm by 2015. Women’s average height also fell one tenth of an inch since 1999.

BMI, a key health indicator which is calculated as ratio of height and weight, showed men climbed from an average of 27.8 in 1999 to 29.1 in 2015. Women went from a 27.8 to 28.2.

Those BMIs put both men and women squarely in the ‘overweight’ range – the normal range is typically 18.5-24.9.

According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 39.8 per cent of Americans are considered obese, a total of more than 93 million people.

Doctors say there are plenty of reasons to maintain a normal weight, as obesity raises the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer. – AFP