WEDNESDAY, Nov. 28, 2007 (HealthDay News) -- Obesity among American adults hasn't increased much in recent years, but there are still far too many adults who are overweight, a new federal study reports.
The study, based on 2005-06 data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, found:
Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI, a ratio of weight to height) of 30 or greater. A person 5-feet, 7-inches tall who weighs 195 pounds has a BMI of 30.5
Obesity rates among American adults have increased over the past 25 years, but the increases seem to have slowed in recent years, experts say.
"Since 1999, there appears to have been a leveling off in obesity among women, but the trend is less clear among men. We do know however that the gap between men and women has narrowed in recent years, with men catching up to the higher rates among women," study lead author Cynthia Ogden, a researcher at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a prepared statement.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more about adult obesity.