They aren't. I don't know where you get your information, but when I was at Costco last week, it occurred to me that nearly every shopper was obese. I felt like an oddball — the only person whose weight was normal and healthy.
And I live in California, where the obesity rate is much lower than it is in places like Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, and Indiana. The American Midwest and South comprise the obesity belt of America.
Over 42% of adult Americans are obese, according to a 2020 government survey. Over 70% are overweight. Over 20% of children age 12 to 19 are obese. The adult obesity rate is expected to reach 50% by 2030.
- 42 percent of Americans are obese, government survey finds
- Close to half of U.S. population projected to have obesity by 2030
If most Americans seem “slim,” it's because we've forgotten what it means to be slim. This is what normal weight looked like in the 1960s, prior to the American obesity epidemic.
ADDENDUM: To all the comments about “muscle mass.” In most telephone surveys, interviewers do ask about exercise habits, and typically a more sophisticated calculation is used than the crude BMI ratio, which actually still does have statistical validity across large numbers.
And since only 23% of Americans meet CDC exercise guidelines, and even fewer meet the guidelines for resistance training and intense exercise, we can assume that gym sessions aren't skewing the latest statistics on obesity.
- Only 23% of Americans Get Enough Exercise, a New Report Says
- In short, it ain't about you.
Plus, I'd invite you to look at the charts themselves. Most of them have been adjusted up. What was overweight in 1960 is now considered normal, even in some medical calculations.
0 Comments