American obesity rates unchanged from last year at 35%

Almost 35% of American adults are obese, a statistic that remains unchanged from a year earlier, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data updated on Thursday.

“There was no significant change in obesity prevalence between 2009-2010 and 2011-2012 among either men or women,” the CDC reported. “In 2011-2012, the prevalence of obesity among men was 33.5%, compared with 35.5% in 2009-2010. Among women, obesity prevalence was 36.1% in 2011-2012 and 35.8% in 2009-2010.”

The CDC considers adults with a body mass index greater than 30 as obese. BMI is calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared and rounded to one decimal place.

Among other findings, the CDC also reports that obesity's prevalence is higher among middle-aged adults than among younger or older adults.

Research has shown that workers compensation claims durations are significantly longer when a claimant is obese.

The CDC's report is available here.