By 2030, nearly one in two adults will be obese, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine predicts.
Researchers collected body mass index data reported by 6.26 million adults who participated in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey. They corrected for self-reporting bias by using data from 57,131 adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
They estimated the prevalence of four BMI categories from 1990 through 2030: underweight or normal weight (BMI less than 25), overweight (BMI 25 to 29), moderate obesity (BMI 30 to 34) and severe obesity (BMI 35 and over).
Researchers predict that about half of the U.S. adult population will be obese by 2030, and nearly one in four adults is projected to have severe obesity by 2030. The prevalence of obesity will be higher than 50 percent in 29 states and not below 35 percent in any state.
They also predict that nationally, severe obesity is likely to become the most common BMI category among women, non-Hispanic black adults and low-income adults.