The average American is now 15 pounds heavier than they were in the early '90s and late '80s, according to a recent CDC report.
The report, Anthropometric Reference Data for Children and Adults: United States, 2011–2014, found the average weight increased from 181 to 196 pounds for men and from 152 to 169 pounds for women. Children were also found to be heavier on average — the average weight of boys aged 19 years and younger increased by 13.5 pounds, and girls' average weight grew by 7 pounds. The surge in weight was not accompanied by an increase in the average height of Americans.
When interviewed about the report, David Katz, MD, director of Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center in Derby, Conn., told HealthDay News, "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."