Agence France-Presse | Jan. 17, 2012 WASHINGTON — One in three
American adults is obese, a national level that has stayed the
same in recent years, said US data released on Tuesday. About
one in six children and teenagers are also obese, according to
the Journal of the American Medical Association report which
showed that obesity remains a significant problem in US society
despite efforts to combat it. “Obesity prevalence shows little
change over the past 12 years, although the data are consistent
with the possibility of slight increases,” said the article.
Obesity is defined as a body mass index, or a formula based on
height and weight, that is 30 or higher. Examples would include
a six-foot tall man weighing more than 222 pounds (1.82 meters
and 100 kilograms) or a five-foot-seven-inch tall woman weighing
192 pounds (1.70 meters and 87 kilograms). According to the JAMA
report, 35.7 percent of US adults are obese and so are 16.9
percent of children and teenagers age two to 19. When overweight
people are adde