Average Weight of Women and Men Increases 20%

According to a new U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report women now are the same weight as men in 1960. The average American male weighed approximately 166.3 pounds back then, which was the average weight for American women in 2010 at 166.2 pounds. That marks about a 20 percent (18.5 percent) increase. The average weight for women in 1960 was 140 pounds, according to the CDC.

The average weight for men also increased about 30 pounds to 195.5 pounds, which is also nearly 20 percent (17.6 percent) increase as well.

America is Getting Taller, Too

Not only have weights increased, but also heights have increased about an inch in height since 1960 for both men and women. According to the CDC, changes in height have been factored into some of the weight gain.

According to the CDC, more than one-third of Americans (35.1 percent) of adults older than 20 years old are obese. And, 69 percent of adults 20 or older are either overweight or obese.

Is America the Heaviest Nation?

To put all of this into perspective and how we stack up, the U.S. came in third in 2012, following two Pacific island nations of Micronesia and Tonga for having the highest average weight in the world, according to a study by BMC Public Health.

Americans on average weigh 33 pounds more than the average person in France, 40 pounds more than the average person in Japan and 70 pounds more than the average person in Bangladesh.

It's not too late to reverse the trend! Seattle Sutton's Healthy Eating not only helps fight weight loss, but we have years of expertise in creating healthy and fresh meal plans and our customers agree! Learn more about how we work and view our traditional and vegetarian meal plan options!