More than 70% of American adults are overweight or obese

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Americans weigh more this decade than they did last decade, but fewer adults say they want to lose weight.

28% of Americans said they weighed 200 pounds or more between 2010 and 2019 -- a four-point jump from a 2001 to 2009, according to a new Gallup poll. Still, fewer Americans now consider themselves overweight or obese.

That might reflect changing attitudes toward weight, but the pollsters said it doesn't bode well for health. Local and state programs to address obesity haven't been enough to stall its spread across the United States, despite the increased risk of deadly diseases that accompany excessive weight gain.


Obesity is considered a national epidemic. More than 70% of American adults are overweight or obese, a recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found.

Excessive weight gain is tied to poorer mental health and several leading causes of death in the US, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some cancers, the CDC says.

The side effects of obesity may be tied to continually lower life expectancy in the US. A JAMA study published this weekfound that midlife mortality rates increased more than 114% in obese people.

The causes of obesity complicate its treatment. The CDC says some people may be genetically predisposed to have increased hunger, which makes them more likely to be obese, or learn behaviors that impact the way they eat and view food throughout their lives. Culture can be a culprit, too. Cheap, highly processed foods are readily available in the US, where urban areas are designed around drivers rather than pedestrians or bicyclists, World Health Organization researcher Temo Waqanivalu told CNN in 2017.