As the new year approaches, many Americans are considering their resolutions for 2025, and losing weight is often a top priority. This article delves into the current landscape of weight loss in the United States, examining statistics, trends, and strategies.
Perception vs. Reality: Weight and Weight Loss Desires
According to Gallup’s annual Health and Healthcare survey, 43% of adults view themselves as overweight. A larger percentage, 55%, express a desire to lose weight, but only 27% report they are actively working toward that goal. In contrast, 48% of adults describe their weight as "about right."
Since 1999, Gallup has tracked Americans’ perceptions of their own weight almost every year. On average, those who believe their weight is about right have surpassed those who consider themselves overweight by 14 percentage points. Women have consistently been more likely than men to say they are overweight, and the latest 11-point gap is on the higher end historically. While 55% of adults express a desire to lose weight, 33% are content with maintaining their current weight, and 11% want to gain weight. These readings have been fairly steady since 1996, when Gallup began to regularly track this measure. Women have historically outpaced men when it comes to wanting to slim down. While 55% of adults express a desire to lose weight, only about half as many (27%) say they are seriously trying to do so. This includes 32% of women and 23% of men.
Weight Loss Attempts and Strategies
Nearly half of adults (49.1%) attempted to lose weight within the last year, according to CDC data from 2018. A higher percentage of women (56.4%) than men (41.7%) have tried to lose weight. Adults between the ages of 40 and 59 have the most significant percentage of obesity (43%) of any age group. Obesity is prevalent in people aged 60 and up, with a rate of 41%.
Among adults who tried to lose weight, the most commonly reported ways were exercising (62.9%) and eating less food (62.9%). Consuming more fruits, vegetables, and salads followed this at 50.4%. Strategies associated with losing ≥5% weight included eating less fat (OR 1.41, 95% CI=1.14, 1.75), exercising more (OR 1.29 [95% CI=1.05, 1.60]), and using prescription weight loss medications (OR 1.77 [95% CI=1.00, 3.13]). Eating less fat (OR 1.37 [95% CI=1.04, 1.80]), exercising more (OR 1.36 [95% CI=1.12, 1.65]), and using prescription weight loss medications (OR 2.05 [95% CI=1.09, 3.90]) were also associated with losing ≥10% weight, as was joining commercial weight loss programs (OR 1.72 [95% CI=1.00, 2.96]). Adults eating diet products were less likely to achieve 10% weight loss (OR 0.48 [95% CI=0.31, 0.73]).
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The Role of Technology in Weight Management
About one-quarter of Americans each say they currently wear a fitness tracker such as a smartwatch or smart ring (24%) or track their health statistics using an app on their phone or tablet (26%). Fitness trackers are most popular with adults aged 35 to 54 (32%), with fewer of their younger (21%) and older (19%) counterparts using them. Those who are seriously trying to lose weight are more likely than those who are not to say they wear a fitness tracker (30% vs. 21%, respectively). More than three-quarters of adults who use a fitness tracker (77%) say it is a helpful tool in reaching their health goals. Consumers also use a step counter app regularly.
Obesity Prevalence and Demographics
Obesity affects 42.2% of persons over the age of 20 in the US. In 2022, 1 in 8 people in the world were living with obesity. Worldwide adult obesity has more than doubled since 1990, and adolescent obesity has quadrupled. In 2022, 2.5 billion adults (18 years and older) were overweight. Of these, 890 million were living with obesity. In 2022, 43% of adults aged 18 years and over were overweight and 16% were living with obesity. In 2024, 35 million children under the age of 5 were overweight. Over 390 million children and adolescents aged 5-19 years were overweight in 2022, including 160 million who were living with obesity.
Obesity rates among African American adults are the highest, at 49.6%. Obesity affects 44.8% of Latino people, 42.2% of white adults, and 17.4% of Asian adults. In 2019, 28.5% of adults aged 65+ in the United States were obese. Obesity is more common among lower-income individuals, those with less education, and some ethnic/racial minorities.
Economic Impact of Obesity
The annual medical cost of obesity is estimated to be $149.5 billion. The cost of obesity is estimated to reach 5%-to-14% of health expenditures from 2020-to 2050. In 2019 dollars, annual medical costs for adults with obesity were $1,861 higher per person than adults with healthy weight. For adults with severe obesity, the excess costs were $3,097 per person. If nothing is done, the global costs of overweight and obesity are predicted to reach US$ 3 trillion per year by 2030 and more than US$ 18 trillion by 2060
Factors Contributing to Weight Gain
Several factors contribute to weight gain in the United States. According to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, more than 80% of diets are deficient in vegetables, fruits, and dairy. A March 2020 study published in the American Journal of Health Promotion found that American teenagers who drink less water consume fewer fruits and vegetables, drink more sugar-sweetened beverages, and engage in less physical activity. In Mississippi, 37.3% of individuals are considered physically inactive. In 2020, 72% of Americans gained weight due to a lack of exercise.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has also played a role. According to a recent survey, 71% of Americans gained weight during the pandemic. In 2020, 70% of Americans said they’ve been stress-eating. A 2020 research from Acosta’s marketing firm, 55% of American buyers have eaten at home more frequently since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Surprisingly, 32.17% of the 19,903 people surveyed were able to shed weight during the pandemic. People who exercised 1-2 times per week increased their fitness habits by an incredible 88% throughout the epidemic.
Strategies for Successful Weight Loss
A modest weight loss of 5%-to-10% of a person’s body weight will produce health benefits, such as improvements in blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and blood sugar. The most common weight-loss method is exercising (62.9%), eating less food (62.9%), and followed by consuming more fruits, vegetables, and salads (50.4%). The average woman needs about 1,500 calories a day to lose weight, while the average man needs 2,000 calories. Cutting carbs is an effective weight-loss method, as it reduces appetite. A high-protein diet reduces appetite and food cravings, increases the metabolic rate, and prevents weight regain.
Drinking more water, especially before meals, increases the metabolic rate by 30%, which is helpful with weight loss. Sugary soft drinks, fruit juices, chocolate milk, and other beverages with added sugar should be avoided as they are linked to an increased risk of obesity.
The Weight Management Industry
By 2027, the worldwide weight management industry will be valued at $423.2 billion. An estimated 45 million Americans go on a diet each year and spend $33 billion each year on weight-loss products. Weight Watchers is still one of the world’s most successful commercial weight loss companies, with 5 million members and $334 million in revenue in the second quarter of 2020. Gastric bypass surgery, which costs around $23,000, is the most common weight reduction procedure. The worldwide epidemic will cause a 9% drop in the weight reduction market in the United States.
Motivations and Perceptions
The biggest motivator for weight loss among obese Americans (77%) is to improve overall health. Eighty-two percent of respondents considered that weight loss was completely their own responsibility, while only 5% did not agree. For the sake of losing ten pounds or more, 40 million Americans are willing to give up social media. Adults are willing to give up sex in 22% of cases, and 17% are willing to give up their favorite T.V. or streaming service if it means dropping 10 pounds or more. Twenty-four percent of Americans believe that sugar is most likely to cause weight gain.
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The Role of Employers and Legislative Interventions
Employers should be invested in the health and wellbeing of their employees, as a healthy employee is more productive, has fewer health issues, and costs the company less in benefits. Seventy-eight percent of employees said that they would use their company gym if their employer had one. Companies that implement corporate wellness programs have healthier employees.
Legislative interventions such as “junk food” tax, banning soft drink vending machines, improving nutritional labeling, regulating sodium consumption help the public be more conscious of their food consumption. Tax revenues may be used to provide more parks and playgrounds, and make price reductions for healthier foods. Medicalizing the obese diagnosis helps ensure continual insurance coverage for the severely obese. School-based initiatives such as better food in canteens, improved sports facilities, and learning proper nutrition can help lower obesity in children, it has been shown that healthy-weight children perform 13% better and school.
Global Perspective on Obesity
Globally, more than 1.9 billion adults are overweight, out of which 650 million adults are obese. Out of all the OECD countries, Japan has the lowest rate of obesity (3.7%) which is considerably lower than the average of 19.5%. In 2022, 2.5 billion adults aged 18 years and older were overweight, including over 890 million adults who were living with obesity. This corresponds to 43% of adults aged 18 years and over (43% of men and 44% of women) who were overweight; an increase from 1990, when 25% of adults aged 18 years and over were overweight.
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