US Obesity Rate Dropped For First Time Since 2013: Study
Oh, for fat’s sake! Usually when we are talking about obesity in the United States, it is painting a grim picture. While things aren’t as good as they should be, there is rare good news on our plate. It turns out the US obesity rate dropped for the first time in a long while.
The data is inside a new research letter entitled “Changes In Adult Obesity Trends In The US” published in The Journal Of The America Medical Association health forum.
US Obesity Rate Dropped By How Much?
The JAMA published study found that from 2022 to 2023, the US obesity rate dipped, using the mean population BMI or body mass index. Back in 2013, the mean (or average) of the millions whose data were used to provide the result was 29.65. That is nothing to write home about – 30 is considered obese – but it was the best number we had for a while.
The rate only increased from there and in 2022 measured up to 30.24, meaning the average of the roughly 16 million people in the study was a BMI above the obesity threshold. In 2023, however, the data shows that it took a slight drop, down to 30.21. It’s a small change, but an important one. Obesity prevalence (that is to say the percentage of people who were actually measured to be obese in the study) dropped from 2021 to 2023 a modest 0.6% to 45.6%.
How Weight Loss Drugs Play A Role
Obviously the advent of new weight loss drugs like Ozempic have been a game changer in the US obesity rate. So what role is that playing in the study?
The study showed the percentage of GLP-1RA insurance claims, with the south seeing the most at 6%, with it ranging down to the Western US at 3.4%.
The other reason for the drop in obesity rates is a rather sad one. The JAMA research letter showed that the South had a “disproportionately high” number of deaths among the obese in the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic. Obviously if the person in the study dies, their measurements are no longer taken which can drive down the averages.
BMI Only Tells A Bit Of The Story
BMI is an imperfect measurement of health. The body mass index is quite literally an equation to determine if a person is a healthy weight or not. But it is flawed. The equation goes like this. Your height in inches, divided by “the square” of your weight in pounds, multiplied by 703.
Using these calculations, as this US obesity rate research does, Arnold Schwarzenegger is obese.
So, when it comes to your health, weight and your BMI is just one marker. Some very “fit” people are incredibly unhealthy. Others with extra weight are in great shape. The best bet for your situation is to meet with your doctor, run your numbers and make sure the numbers behind what is on the scale give you a full picture of your health.
