Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence of, and trends in, overweight and obesity in the US population using standardized international definitions.
DESIGN: Successive cross-sectional nationally representative surveys, including the National Health Examination Survey (NHES I; 1960–62) and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES I: 1971–1974; NHANES II: 1976–1980; NHANES III: 1988–94). Body mass index (BMI: kg/m2) was calculated from measured weight and height. Overweight and obesity were defined as follows: Overweight (BMI≥25.0); pre-obese (BMI 25.0–29.9), class I obesity (BMI 30.0–34.9), class II obesity (BMI 35.0–39.9), and class III obesity (BMI≥40.0).
RESULTS: For men and women aged 20–74 y, the age-adjusted prevalence of BMI 25.0–29.9 showed little or no increase over time (NHES I: 30.5%, NHANES I: 32.0%, NHANES II: 31.5% and NHANES III: 32.0%) but the prevalence of obesity (BMI≥30.0) showed a large increase between NHANES II and NHANES III (NHES I: 12.8%; NHANES I, 14.1%; NHANES II, 14.5% and NHANES III, 22.5%). Trends were generally similar for all age, gender and race-ethnic groups. The crude prevalence of overweight and obesity (BMI>25.0) for age≥20 y was 59.4% for men, 50.7% for women and 54.9% overall. The prevalence of class III obesity (BMI≥40.0) exceeded 10% for non-Hispanic black women aged 40–59 y.
CONCLUSIONS: Between 1976–80 and 1988–94, the prevalence of obesity (BMI≥30.0) increased markedly in the US. These findings are in agreement with trends seen elsewhere in the world. Use of standardized definitions facilitates international comparisons.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Flegal, K., Carroll, M., Kuczmarski, R. et al. Overweight and obesity in the United States: prevalence and trends, 1960–1994. Int J Obes 22, 39–47 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0800541
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0800541
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Lifestyle patterns influence the composition of the gut microbiome in a healthy Chinese population
Scientific Reports (2023)
-
In vivo corneal confocal microscopy as a non-invasive test to assess obesity induced small fibre nerve damage and inflammation
Eye (2023)
-
Obesity and labour market outcomes in Italy: a dynamic panel data evidence with correlated random effects
The European Journal of Health Economics (2023)
-
Pulmonary thromboembolism and obesity in forensic pathologic case work
Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology (2023)
-
BMI Trends for Veterans Up to 10 Years After VA Enrollment Following Military Discharge
Journal of General Internal Medicine (2023)