Daily Research News Online no. 3264 - US Obesity Stats Designed to Shock

US Obesity Stats Designed to Shock

July 15 2004

There are now 3.8 million Americans who tip the scales at more than 300 pounds, according to a new report by American Sports Data, Inc. (ASD). The report aims to depart from the 'polite abstraction' of Body Mass Index (BMI) and use 'measures of the flesh that are vivid, graphic and powerful enough to galvanize a dangerously overweight population'.

According to ASD president Harvey Lauer, 'Unless you're a well-proportioned 7-foot basketball player or a huge wrestler, that much body mass is hard to justify', says Lauer. 'Public health officials are logical, quantitative types who are scrupulous about data presentation - but the art of communication is not necessarily part of their job description'.

Adult males in the ASD study averaged 196 pounds, while for women, the mean self-reported bodyweight was 163. Men comprise 70% of the 300+ pound category, and also dominate a supermassive segment of 400,000 Americans weighing more than 400 pounds. 1 in 9 adult men carry more than 250 pounds, while 1 out of 6 women weighs in at over 200.

Self-reported bodyweight of U.S. Adults 18+ January 2004
	Male	Female
TOTAL SAMPLE	(6,324)	(5,770)
Population	101,651,000	109,463,000
	(%)	(%)

Under 100 pounds	-	1.0
101 - 124	1.1	13.2
125 - 149	7.9	27.5
150 - 174	21.6	22.5
175 - 199	27.9	14.5
200 - 224	19.6	8.8
225 - 249	9.7	3.7
250 - 299	8.0	3.9
300 - 349	1.6	0.7
350 - 399	0.7	0.2
400+	0.3	0.1

Not Reported	1.6	3.9
	100.0	100.0

Average Weight	196.0	162.8
Source: IHRSA/ASD Obesity-Weight Control Trend Report

The study on Obesity and Weight Control was sponsored by the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), and is derived from the Superstudy(r) of Sports Participation, conducted in January 2004 and based on a nationally representative sample of 15,015 people over the age of 6 in a sample drawn from the consumer mail panel of TNS-NFO. 103 sports and activities were measured along with health club membership, physical fitness, and weight control. The annual tracking study has been conducted by ASD every year since 1987.

The company's web site is at www.americansportsdata.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.