Nearly three-quarters of American adults are overweight or obese, according to a new study.
This leaves only about 86 million people with a healthy BMI below 25, a situation researchers described as “an epidemic.”
The new study, one of the most comprehensive of its kind, compiled data from more than 100 different surveys, polls and studies that have been conducted since 1990.
They found that between 72 and 75 percent of American adults were overweight or obese, meaning they had a maximum body index (BMI) greater than 25 and 30, respectively.
In the case of children, they found that more than a third of children and adolescents up to 25 years old were overweight or obese.
Using these trends from the past three decades, researchers predicted that the number of overweight and obese adults will reach 213 million by 2050.
That means that two out of every three adults will be obese, not even counting overweight people.
However, other recently published CDC research has suggested that the tide could be turning and that rates could be falling as part of an “Ozempic effect.”
CDC Report September 2024 It was part of a national survey that was conducted from 2021 to 2023 to obtain information on different health trends, called the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Their September edition had data from 2022 to 2023 and compared trends going back to 2013. The rates they calculated come from administering the survey they conducted nationwide, meaning it is an estimate based on the most recent trends. of ten years.
Additionally, it only included people with a BMI greater than 30, who are considered obese, and did not consider people in the overweight range, 25 to 30.
In contrast, the Lancet article took data through 2021 and considered studies dating back to 1990.
They combined the surveys used by the CDC with other measurements from private universities and polling companies to add more data to the sample.
Obesity is of concern to public health officials largely because there are a host of health conditions associated with being overweight, including diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
The study authors said this has a surprising effect on both the individual facing health problems and the economy and health system as a whole. In 2016, health care costs associated with obesity amounted to $481 billion.
Researchers suggest that a confluence of factors may be contributing to this epidemic, including the fact that fresh, healthy foods tend to be more expensive and less accessible than highly processed foods high in sugar and fat.
His study, published in the journal the lancetpulled data from 134 different sources from 1980 to 2021 to create its data set.
This included CDC surveys, Gallup polls, and long-term studies like Women’s Health Across the Nation.
More than 100 different scientists from international organizations participated in the research, forming a group called GBD 2021 US Obesity Forecasting Collaborators.
Combining information from these different sources, they created obesity prevalence maps from 1990 to 2021, according to age and sex.
They then used a model to apply the trends they had observed over the past three decades to the next 25 years.
They classified people into three groups: children, ages five to 14, adolescents, ages 15 to 24, and adults ages 25 and older. They were also classified into different groups based on their weight.
Perry started in 2016 with mukbangs of a different nature: tamer portion sizes, often accompanied by his pet parrot.
In this video from summer 2022, Perry celebrates her “400-pound milestone” with food from the Cheesecake Factory.
Tess Holliday, 35, a model and influencer, has openly shared her struggles with weight and an eating disorder online.
Overweight people had a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or more and obese adults had a body mass of 30 or more.
For example, a person who is five feet four inches tall and weighs 150 pounds would have a BMI of 26.
A person who is five feet ten inches tall and weighs 245 pounds is obese.
They found that in 2021, approximately 15.1 million children, 21.4 million adolescents and 172 million adults were overweight or obese.
The state with the highest rate of male adolescents being overweight or obese was Texas, with an estimated 52 percent, and the state with the highest rate of female adolescents was Mississippi, with an estimated 63 percent.
From 1990 to 2021, the percentage of male and female adolescents in the US with obesity specifically increased by 158 percent and 185 percent respectively.
In adults, the percentage increased by 123 percent in men and 99.9 percent in women.
What they found suggested that the number of people who are overweight or obese will continue to grow over the next 25 years.
By 2050, their model predicts that there will be 43.1 million overweight or obese children and adolescents and 213 million overweight or obese adults.
That means that one in three teenagers and two in three adults will be obese.
The most concerning part of the article, the study authors wrote, are the trends in children.
Children who develop weight problems are more likely to develop diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and psychological or social problems, according to research 2023 from the University of Illinois.
They are also more likely to die young than children of average weight.
Jaelynn Chaney, 27, is a plus-size travel influencer (pictured on vacation in Lake Oswego, Oregon)
Brittany Sauer tragically passed away at age 28 from complications due to type 2 diabetes. Shortly before her death, she tearfully spoke to camera and said she had “ruined her life” with eating and binge eating.
Currently, overweight creators posting videos of themselves eating food are at an all-time high.
Muk-bang creators like Nicholas Perry, better known by his username Nikocado Avocado, make videos of themselves gorging on large amounts of food and regularly consuming more than 10,000 calories on camera.
In his 7 years as a food creator, Perry gained at least 150 pounds and earned a net worth of $2 million, a DailyMail.com investigation revealed.
People have also seen their favorite creators’ lives end in tragedy as a result of their weight, as was the case with TikToker Brittany Sauer, who died at age 28. In some of Sauer’s latest videos, he said he felt like he had “ruined” her. life” with binge eating.
Critics of this content have previously told the Daily Mail that content featuring online binge eating “normalizes overeating” in an unhealthy way.
Although progress has been made recently in weight loss, particularly as more and more people become users of GLP-1 inhibitors like Ozempic, researchers said broad institutional change is necessary to curb obesity.
This includes expanding insurance coverage to cover weight loss procedures, cracking down on the amount of sugar and fat allowed in products, and issuing regulations to make healthy options more affordable.
This could include implementing a tax on sugary drinks, for example.
The researchers said: “Without major reform, the predicted trends will be devastating at the individual and population levels, and the burden of disease and associated economic costs will continue to increase.”