New CDC report says Americans are getting shorter and heavier

Thursday, December 20, 2018
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A sobering new report shows just how serious America's obesity problem has become.

This isn't a good sign. On average, Americans are getting shorter and heavier.
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According to the new CDC report, the average American man is 5'9" inches tall, and weighs about 198 pounds. The average woman, is 5'4" tall with a weight of 171 pounds.

That puts the body mass index for each at just over 29. A BMI of 30 is considered obese.

Over the past 15 years, not only has weight has gone up, so have waistlines - for women, they've increased more than 2 inches. For men, the increase was an inch and a half.

When waistlines get bigger, so do the chances for heart disease and diabetes.
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Heart disease is already the leading cause of death in the US.



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