Obesity Among US Adults Has Reached A Staggering All Time High

Obesity on the rise

Obesity in the United States looks like it won’t be diminishing anytime soon: Approximately 40% of adults and 19% of youth are obese, the largest rate the country has ever encountered in all adults, according to an investigation released Friday by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Since 1999, there has been a dreadful rise in the prevalence of obesity, notably in adults, without any “signs of it slowing down,” according to an investigation by head scientist, Dr.Craig Hales, a medical epidemiologist at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Teen obesity rates appear to be more steady in recent years. However, it is “too early to tell” what direction youth obesity prevalence will continue.

At least four more years of statistics are required to actually figure out the direction, Hales added.

What is “particularly striking” about this report is that there has been a 30% rise in adult obesity and 33% gain in youth obesity from 1999-2000 data to 2015-16.

Despite government-focused attempts to address the issue, according to Michael W. Long, assistant professor at the Milken Institute of School Public Health at George Washington University. “They haven’t done enough,” said Long, who was not involved in the new report.