The May CDC report analyzed obesity rates and statistics between 1999-2000 and 2017-March 2020.
Here are seven things to know:
- The prevalence of obesity increased from 30.5% in 1999-2000 to 41.9% in 2017-March 2020.
- The prevalence of severe obesity rose to 9.2% (up from 4.7% in 1999-2000).
- Black adults have the highest obesity rates (49.9%), followed by Hispanic (45.6%), white (41.4%) and Asian (16.1%) adults.
- Less educated adults have higher rates of obesity, with the highest rate among adults with a high school diploma or some college (46.4%), followed by those with less than a high school diploma (40.1%) and those with a college degree (34.2%).
- Obesity rates by age all ranged within five percentage points of each other with 39.8% among adults aged 20-39 and 44.3% among adults 40-59 years old.
- Of adults with obesity, 58% also had high blood pressure and 23% had diabetes.
- In 2019, the medical expenditure on those with obesity reached $173 billion.
