o?NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 82 ■ January 2012

Prevalence of Obesity in the United States, 2009-2010Cynthia L. Ogden, Ph.D.; Margaret D. Carroll, M.S.P.H.; Brian K. Kit, M.D.,

and Katherine M. Flegal, Ph.D.

K e y f i n d i n g s

Data from the National Health and Nutrition Exam ination Survey, 20 0 9 -2 0 1 0

• M ore than one-th ird o f adults and a lm o st 17 % o f you th w ere obese in 2 0 0 9 -2 0 1 0 .

• T h e re w a s no change in the p reva lence o f o besity

am ong adults o r ch ild ren from 2 0 0 7 -2 0 0 8 to 2 0 0 9 -2 0 1 0 .

• O b es ity p reva lence d id not d if fe r betw een m en and w om en .

• A d u lts aged 60 and o ve r w ere m ore l ik e ly to be obese than yo u ng er adults .

O b es ity in creases the r is k o f a num ber o f hea lth co nd itio ns in c lu d in g

h yp erten sio n , adverse lip id concentra tions, and type 2 d iabetes ( 1) . T h e

p reva lence o f o besity in the U n ite d States increased during the la st decades

o f the 20th cen tu ry (2 , 3) . M ore rece n tly there appears to have been a s lo w in g

o f the rate o f increase o r even a le v e lin g o f f (4 , 5 ) . G iv e n the hea lth r isk s

o f o besity and its h ig h p reva len ce , it is im portant to continue to tra ck the

p reva lence o f o besity am ong U .S . adults and ch ild ren . T h is report presents

the m o st recent n atio na l estim ates o f o b esity in the U n ite d States based on

m easured w e ig h t and height.

K e y w o rd s : N a t io n a l H e a lth a n d N u t r i t io n E x a m in a t io n S u rv e y • a d u lts •

c h ild re n

In 2 0 0 9 - 2 0 1 0 , 3 5 .7 % o f U . S . a d u l t s w e r e o b e s e .

Figure 1. Prevalence of obesity among adults aged 20 and over, by sex and age: United States, 2009-2010

Significant increasing linear trend by age (p < 0.01).2Significant increasing linear trend by age (p < 0.001).NOTE: Estimates were age adjusted by the direct method to the 2000 U.S. Census population using the age groups 20- 39, 40- 59, and 60 and over.SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2009- 2010.

* service

S

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICESCenters for Disease Control and Prevention

National Center for Health Statistics

N C H S D a t a B r i e f ■ N o . 8 2 ■ J a n u a r y 2 0 1 2

M ore than 3 5 % o f U .S . m en and w om en w ere obese in 2 0 0 9 -2 0 1 0 . T h e re w as no s ig n ifican t

d iffe ren ce in p reva lence betw een m en and w om en at an y age. O v e ra ll, adults aged 60 and o ve r

w ere m ore l ik e ly to be obese than yo u ng er adults . A m o n g m en there w as no s ig n ifican t d iffe ren ce

in o b esity p reva lence b y age. A m o n g w o m en , h o w eve r, 4 2 .3 % o f those aged 60 and o ve r w ere

obese com pared w ith 3 1 .9 % o f w om en aged 2 0 -3 9 (F ig u re 1) .

In 2 0 0 9 - 2 0 1 0 , 1 6 .9 % o f U . S . c h i l d r e n a n d a d o l e s c e n t s w e r e o b e s e .

T h e p reva lence o f o b esity w a s h ig h e r am ong adolescents than am ong preschoo l-aged ch ild ren

(F ig u re 2 ) . T h e p reva lence o f o besity w as h ig he r am ong b o ys than g ir ls (1 8 .6 % o f b o ys and

1 5 .0 % o f g ir ls w ere obese).

Figure 2. Prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents aged 2-19, by sex and age: United States, 2009-2010

'Significant increasing linear trend by age (p < 0.005).

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2009- 2010.

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N C H S D a t a B r i e f ■ N o . 8 2 ■ J a n u a r y 2 0 1 2

In 2 0 0 9 - 2 0 1 0 , o v e r 7 8 m i l l i o n U . S . a d u l t s a n d a b o u t 1 2 .5 m i l l i o n U .S .

c h i l d r e n a n d a d o l e s c e n t s w e r e o b e s e .

A lm o st 41 m ill io n w om en and m ore than 37 m ill io n m en aged 20 and o ve r w ere obese in

2 0 0 9 -2 0 1 0 (F ig u re 3 ) . A m o n g ch ild ren and adolescents aged 2 -1 9 , m ore than 5 m ill io n g ir ls and

a p p ro x im ate ly 7 m ill io n boys w ere obese.

Figure 3. Number of obese individuals: United States, 2009-2010

80 _Females

Males

60 -40.6

Num

ber

in m

illio

ns4 O

2 0 - 37.5

0

5.5

7.0

Adults aged 20 years and over Children and adolescents aged 2-19 years

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2009- 2010.

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N C H S D a t a B r i e f ■ N o . 8 2 ■ J a n u a r y 2 0 1 2

B e t w e e n 1 9 9 9 - 2 0 0 0 a n d 2 0 0 9 - 2 0 1 0 , t h e p r e v a l e n c e o f o b e s i t y i n c r e a s e d

a m o n g m e n b u t n o t a m o n g w o m e n .

In 1 9 9 9 -2 0 0 0 , 2 7 .5 % o f m en w ere obese, and b y 2 0 0 9 -2 0 1 0 the p reva lence had increased

to 3 5 .5 % . A m o n g w o m en , 3 3 .4 % w ere obese in 1 9 9 9 -2 0 0 0 w ith no s ig n ifican t change in

2 0 0 9 -2 0 1 0 (3 5 .8 % ) . In 1 9 9 9 -2 0 0 0 , the p reva lence o f o b esity w a s h ig h e r in w om en than in m en.

B e tw e e n 1 9 9 9 -2 0 0 0 and 2 0 0 9 -2 0 1 0 , the d iffe ren ce in the p reva lence o f o b esity betw een m en

and w om en decreased so that in 2 0 0 9 -2 0 1 0 , the p reva lence o f o besity in m en w a s v ir tu a lly equal

to that in w om en (F ig u re 4 ) . T h e re w as no s ig n ifican t change in the p reva lence o f o besity from

2 0 0 7 -2 0 0 8 to 2 0 0 9 -2 0 1 0 o ve ra ll o r am ong m en o r w om en .

Figure 4. Trends in the prevalence of obesity among adults aged 20 and over, by sex: United States, 1999-2010

Years

'Significant increasing linear trend 1999-2000 to 2009-2010 (p < 0.0001).NOTE: Estimates were age adjusted by the direct method to the 2000 U.S. Census population using the age groups 20- 39, 40- 59, and 60 and over. SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2009- 2010.

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N C H S D a t a B r i e f ■ N o . 8 2 ■ J a n u a r y 2 0 1 2

B e t w e e n 1 9 9 9 - 2 0 0 0 a n d 2 0 0 9 - 2 0 1 0 , t h e r e w a s a n i n c r e a s e in t h e

p r e v a l e n c e o f o b e s i t y a m o n g b o y s b u t n o t a m o n g g i r l s .

T h e p reva lence o f o b esity am ong b o ys increased from 1 4 .0 % in 1 9 9 9 -2 0 0 0 to 1 8 .6 % in

2 0 0 9 -2 0 1 0 . T h e re w as no s ig n ifican t change am ong g ir ls : the p reva lence w as 1 3 .8 % in

1 9 9 9 -2 0 0 0 and 1 5 .0 % in 2 0 0 9 -2 0 1 0 (F ig u re 5 ) . Th e re w as no s ig n ifican t change in o besity

p reva lence from 2 0 0 7 -2 0 0 8 to 2 0 0 9 -2 0 1 0 o v e ra ll o r am ong boys o r g ir ls .

Figure 5. Trends in the prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents aged 2-19, by sex: United States, 1999-2010

Years

'Significant increasing linear trend 1999-2000 to 2009-2010 (p < 0.05).SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2009- 2010.

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N C H S D a t a B r i e f ■ N o . 8 2 ■ J a n u a r y 2 0 1 2

S u m m a r y

T h e m ost recent n atio na l data on o b es ity p reva lence am ong U .S . ad u lts , ado lescen ts, and

ch ild ren show that m ore than one-th ird o f adults and a lm o st 17% o f ch ild ren and adolescents

w ere obese in 2 0 0 9 -2 0 1 0 . D iffe re n ce s in p reva lence betw een m en and w om en d im in ished

betw een 1 9 9 9 -2 0 0 0 and 2 0 0 9 -2 0 1 0 , w ith the p reva lence o f o besity am ong m en reach ing the

sam e le v e l as that am ong w om en .

A g e d iffe ren ces in o b es ity p reva lence va r ie d betw een m en and w o m en . T h e p reva lence o f o besity

w as h ig h e r am ong o lder w om en com pared w ith yo u ng er w o m en , but there w a s no d iffe ren ce by

age in o b es ity p reva lence am ong m en . A m o n g ch ild re n and ado lescents, the p reva lence o f o besity

w as h ig h e r am ong adolescents than am ong preschoo l-aged ch ild ren .

T h e re has been no change in o besity p reva lence in recent y e a rs ; h o w eve r, o ve r the la st decade

there has been a s ig n ifican t increase in o besity p reva lence am ong m en and boys but not am ong

w om en and g ir ls o ve ra ll. T h e H e a lth y Peop le 20 10 goals o f 15% o b esity am ong adults and 5 %

obesity am ong ch ild ren w ere not m et ( 6 ) .

D e f in i t i o n

O b e s ity : B o d y m ass in d e x (B M I) w as ca lcu la ted as w e ig h t in k ilo g ram s d iv id ed b y height in

m eters squared , rounded to one d ec im a l p lace . O b esity in adults w as defined as B M I greater than

o r equal to 30 ( 1) . E xa m p le s o f ad u lt o b esity cu t po ints at sp e c ific heights are sho w n in the T a b le .

T h e d e fin itio n o f o besity fo r ch ild re n is not d ire c t ly com parab le w ith the d e fin itio n fo r adults .

O b es ity in ch ild ren w as defined as a B M I greater than o r equal to the age- and se x-sp e c ific 95th

p e rcen tile s o f the 20 00 C D C g ro w th charts ( 7 ) .

Table. Obesity cut points for adults 5'4” and 5'9” in height

Height Obesity weight range

5'4”/1.63 meters 174 pounds or more/79 kilograms or more

5'9”/1.75 meters 203 pounds or more/92 kilograms or more

D a t a s o u r c e a n d m e t h o d s

Th e N atio n a l H ea lth and N u trit io n E xa m in a tio n S u rveys (N H A N E S ) conducted from 1999 through

2010 w ere used fo r these an a lyses . N H A N E S is a cross-sectional su rvey designed to m o n ito r the

health and n u tritio n a l status o f the c iv i l ia n n on institu tiona lized U .S . population ( 8 ) . T h e su rvey

consists o f in te rv ie w s conducted in partic ip an ts ’ hom es, standard ized p h ys ica l exam inatio ns

conducted in m o b ile exam in atio n centers, and laborato ry tests u t iliz in g b lood and u rine specim ens

p rovided b y partic ipants during the p h ys ica l exam inatio n .

T h e N H A N E S sam ple is selected through a co m p le x m ultistage p ro b ab ility design that inc ludes

se lection o f p r im a ry sam pling un its (co un tie s), household segm ents w ith in the counties, households

w ith in household segm ents and, f in a lly , sam ple persons from selected households. In 2 0 0 9 -2 0 1 0 ,

n o n -H isp an ic b la ck and H isp a n ic persons, persons w ith lo w inco m e, and those aged 60 and o ve r

w ere oversam p led in o rder to obtain re liab le estim ates o f health and n u trition a l m easures fo r these

population subgroups. In 1999, N H A N E S becam e a continuous su rvey fie lded on an ongoing basis .

E a c h ye a r o f data co lle ctio n is based on a representative sam ple co verin g a ll ages o f the c iv il ia n

non institu tiona lized population . Pub lic-use data f ile s are released in 2 -yea r cyc le s .

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N C H S D a t a B r i e f ■ N o . 8 2 ■ J a n u a r y 2 0 1 2

Sam ple w e ig h ts , w h ic h account fo r the d iffe ren tia l p rob ab ilitie s o f se lectio n , nonresponse, and

noncoverage , are incorporated into the estim ation p rocess. A l l va rian ce estim ates accounted fo r the

co m p le x su rvey design b y using T a y lo r series lin eariza tio n .

E stim ates o f the num ber o f obese in d iv id u a ls w ere ca lcu la ted using the average C u rren t Popu lation

S u rv e y to ta ls fo r 2 0 0 9 -2 0 1 0 (a va ila b le fro m : h ttp ://w w w .cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/response_rates_

C P S .h tm ) .

P reva len ce estim ates fo r the tota l adu lt population w ere age ad justed using the d irect m ethod to

the 2000 U .S . Census population using the age groups 2 0 -3 9 , 4 0 -5 9 , and 60 and over. D iffe re n ces

betw een groups w ere tested using a u n iva ria te t sta tistic at th e p < 0 .05 s ig n ifican ce le v e l. A l l

d iffe rences reported are s ta tis t ica lly s ig n ifican t un less o therw ise ind icated . A d ju stm en ts w ere not

m ade fo r m u ltip le co m parisons. S ta tist ica l ana lyses w ere conducted using the S A S System fo r

W in d o w s (re lease 9 .1 ; S A S Institu te , C a ry , N .C .) and S U D A A N (re lease 9 .0 ; R T I In te rnationa l,

R esearch T ria n g le P a rk , N .C .) .

A b o u t t h e a u t h o r s

C y n th ia L . O gden, M argare t D . C a r ro ll , and B r ia n K . K i t are w ith the Centers fo r D isease C o ntro l

and P re ve n tio n ’s (C D C ) N a tio n a l C en te r fo r H e a lth S ta tis t ics (N C H S ) , D iv is io n o f H ea lth and

N u trit io n E xa m in a t io n S u rv e y s . K a th e rin e M . F le g a l is w ith C D C ’s N C H S , O ffice o f the D irec to r.

R e f e r e n c e s

1. N a tio n a l Institu tes o f H ea lth . C lin ic a l gu id e lines on the id e n tifica tio n , eva lu a tio n , and treatm ent o f o ve rw e ig h t and o besity in adults— T h e evidence report. O bes R e s 6 (S u p p l 2 ): 5 1 S -2 0 9 S . 1998.

2 . F le g a l K M , C a rro ll M D , O gden C L , Jo hnso n C L . P reva len ce and trends in o b esity am ong U S adu lts , 1 9 9 9 -2 0 0 0 . J A M A 2 8 8 (1 4 ) :1 7 2 3 -7 . 2002 .

3. O gden C L , F le g a l K M , C a rro ll M D , Jo hnso n C L . P reva len ce and trends in o ve rw e ig h t am ong U S ch ild ren and ad o lescen ts, 1 9 9 9 -2 0 0 0 . J A M A 2 8 8 (1 4 ) :1 7 2 8 -3 2 . 2002 .

4 . F le g a l K M , C a rro ll M D , O gden C L , C u rt in L R . P reva len ce and trends in o b esity am ong U S adu lts , 1 9 9 9 -2 0 0 8 . J A M A 3 0 3 (3 ) :2 3 5 - 4 1 . 2010 .

5. O gden C L , C a rro ll M D , C u rtin L R , La m b M M , F le g a l K M . P re va len ce o f h ig h body m ass in d e x in U S ch ild re n and ado lescents, 2 0 0 7 -2 0 0 8 . J A M A 3 0 3 (3 ) :2 4 2 -9 . 2010 .

6 . U .S . D epartm ent o f H ea lth and H u m an S e rv ice s . F in a l re v ie w , H e a lth y Peop le 20 1 0 : N u tr it io n and o ve rw e ig h t. A v a ila b le fro m : h ttp ://w w w .cd c .g o v/nch s/d a ta/h p d ata2010/hp 2010_fina l_

re v ie w _ fo c u s_a re a _1 9 .p d f.

7 . O gden C L , F le g a l K M . Changes in te rm in o lo g y fo r ch ild h oo d o ve rw e ig h t and obesity . N a tio n a l hea lth sta tistics reports ; no 25 . H y a t ts v il le , M D : N a tio n a l C en te r fo r H ea lth S ta tist ics . 2 0 1 0 .

8 . N a tio n a l C en te r fo r H e a lth S ta tis t ic s . N a tio n a l H ea lth and N u trit io n E x a m in a t io n S u rvey .

Q u estio n n a ires , datasets, and related docum entation . A v a ila b le fro m : h ttp ://w w w .cdc .go v/nch s/ nhanes/n han es_qu estio n na ires.h tm .

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Suggested citationOgden C L , Carroll M D, K it B K , Flegal KM . Prevalence of obesity in the United States, 2009-2010. NCHS data brief, no 82. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2012.

Copyright informationA ll material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission; citation as to source, however, is appreciated.

National Center for Health StatisticsEdward J. Sondik, Ph.D., Director Jennifer H. Madans, Ph.D., Associate

D irector fo r Science

Division of Health and Nutrition Examination SurveysClifford L . Johnson, M .S.P.H., D irector

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ISSN 1941-4927 (P rin t ed.)ISSN 1941-4935 (Online ed.)CS229086DHHS Publication No. (PHS) 2012-1209