There are early signs that the number of obese people in the US has declined for the first time.
A report released Tuesday by the CDC found that 40 percent of U.S. adults were obese between 2021 and 2023, down from 42 percent between 2017 and 2020.
This is the first year-over-year decline since the CDC began tracking this metric in 2013. However, the change is not statistically significant.
At the very least, it means that obesity rates are no longer rising. The decline is due to the rise of Ozempic and other weight-loss drugs, although experts say it is still too early to know whether they play a role.
Despite the cautiously positive trend, obesity rates are still higher than they were a decade ago, when 38 percent of adults had a BMI over 30. What’s more, more Americans are morbidly obese than ever before.
The map above shows changes in obesity rates by state from 2022 to 2023
It is unclear why obesity rates are falling nationwide, but experts told DailyMail.com that the decline is not statistically significant and more work needs to be done.
One in 10 – 30 million – Americans is now “severely overweight,” with a BMI over 40.
Ten years ago, that was only one in thirteen. This puts them at greater risk of conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.
Despite this, the CDC noted that southern states such as Louisiana and Oklahoma, which have historically high rates, were among the 22 states that saw declines in obesity rates last year.
The agency said this raises optimism about achieving the agency’s Healthy People 2030 goal, which aims to reduce obesity to 36 percent by the end of the decade.
According to Dr. Samuel D. Emmerich, a CDC researcher who worked on the report, it’s too early to say whether drugs like Ozempic are the cause of the change or whether they will continue to affect overall obesity rates.
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However, Dr. Stuart Fischer, an internist in New York, told DailyMail.com that While the decline is encouraging, “much more work needs to be done.” The decline in obesity in the U.S. is unlikely to continue, given the high prevalence of ultra-processed foods and lack of physical activity in general.
“It’s a periodic fluctuation. It’s not a super significant change,” he said. “And 40 percent is still scary.”
The data is based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a report from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics that surveys Americans ages 20 and older about diet and lifestyle.
Researchers took participants’ height and weight to measure their BMI. A BMI over 30 is considered obese, while 40 or higher is “severely” or “morbidly” obese.
Obesity rates were consistently highest among adults between the ages of 40 and 59. A total of 46 percent of Americans in that age group were considered obese.
Dr. Fischer noted that this increased prevalence may be due to lifestyle changes around this age group.
“When people get to 40, they’re out of school, they’re not as active, they’re not as active in sports,” he said. “And as you get older, your metabolism slows down — most significantly during that time.”
‘At 40, you’re at a crossroads when it comes to your health.’
When metabolism slows down, the body burns fewer calories and stores more. Over time, this can lead to weight gain and difficulty keeping it off.
This percentage of obese adults in this age group is a staggering jump from the next highest age group, 60 and older, of which 39 percent were considered obese. Meanwhile, 35.5 percent of those age 20 to 39 were obese.
Older adults are less likely to reach the obesity threshold due to a natural loss of fat and muscle mass over time.
In addition, older people often have less appetite because their metabolism slows down, which means they need less energy from food.
They can also lose their taste buds over time, making food less appealing.
Decreased appetite is also a common symptom of dementia, which is most common in adults over 65 and becomes more likely every five years.
As for young people, a CDC Report 2022 found that adults aged 18 to 34 were the most likely age group to meet the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, which recommend 150 minutes of physical activity per week
This could play a role in reducing the risk of obesity in this age group.
The chart above shows findings from a new CDC report, which shows that obesity rates have declined for the first time ever, though they are still higher than they were in 2013-2014.
The bar chart above shows the age distribution for obesity, according to the CDC report. Adults aged 40 to 59 were consistently more likely to be obese than other age groups
The CDC team noted that although 40 percent of Americans are overweight, there was no significant difference between men and women in any age group.
However, women were twice as likely to be seriously overweight, meaning they had a BMI of over 40. While 6.7 percent of men met this threshold, that number rose to 12.1 percent for women.
This may be due to biological factors such as menopause, excess pregnancy weight, and conditions such as an overactive thyroid, which is about eight times more common in women than men.
The new report shows that obesity is declining overall, and additional recent data shows which states may be responsible for this downward trend.
Earlier this month, the CDC also released 2023 state obesity data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which surveys 400,000 adults in all 50 states, D.C., and three territories.
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Compared to the previous year’s survey, 22 states showed a decrease in obesity rates.
The largest decline was observed in Nevada, where the rate fell from 33.6 percent in 2022 to 30.8 percent in 2023.
Idaho and Georgia follow closely behind, declining from 33.2 to 31 percent and from 37 to 35 percent, respectively.
Louisiana and Oklahoma, the states with the second and fourth most obese people in 2022, also saw a slight decline.
The state of West Virginia, with the highest obesity rate in America, remained the same at 41.2 percent in 2022 and 2023.
However, obesity rates rose in 20 states from 2022 to 2023, with Alaska seeing the largest increase, from 32.2 percent to 35.2 percent.
New Mexico follows closely behind with a rate of 35.3, up from 32.4 in 2022.
New Hampshire, Illinois and Arkansas all rank third in increases, with increases of 2.6 percent from 2022 to 2023.