Weighted average

Prevalence of severe obesity among adults in the US has doubled from 4.7% in 2000 to about 10% now. Severe obesity is classified as having a body mass index (BMI) above 40. For example, a person that is 1.70 meter tall with a body weight of 116 kilograms. Severe obesity is associated with over 200 health complications and is thus a significant health risk. Interestingly, the prevalence of severe obesity differs significantly by sex, age and race in the US. For instance, women have a higher prevalence (12%) than men (7%) and prevalence among adults aged 40-59 (12%) is higher than in younger and older adults. This is in contrast to prevalence of non-severe obesity (BMI > 30) where prevalence is about 40-50% for both men and women and across all age groups.

Source: US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, 2018.