The average American today has put on 15 pounds without getting any taller compared to the average American 20 years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Wednesday.
The CDC blames the average weight gain on Americans exercising less and eating more high-calorie food.
“We are not doing nearly enough to control and reverse the obesity epidemic and doing far too much to propagate it. This is another notice of that sad fact,” Dr. David Katz, director of preventative medicine at Yale University and president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, told Medical Express.
The increase in weight even effected young children. Even 11-year-old kids aren’t immune from this weight plague, the study found. Girls are more than seven pounds heavier even though their average height has not increased. Boys gained an inch in height, but added an average of 13.5 pounds compared to 20 years ago.
The CDC’s numbers are back up by other sources. The average American consumed 3,500 calories per day in 1990. In the year 2000, the same average American 3,804 calories per day, a huge increase. Roughly two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, and half of these are adults have chronic conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure as a direct result. The average calories available to the average American increased 25 percent between 1970 and 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The CDC obtained the data from a sample of 19,151 people who underwent medical examinations between 2011 and 2014.
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