Americans' Weight Growing Faster Than Height
Government Reports Increasing BMI Scores
POSTED: 2:30 pm EDT October 27,
2004
WASHINGTON -- Americans' waistlines are growing faster than their height, according to a new government report.
The report, released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says adults are roughly 1 inch taller than in the 1960s, on average. But they're nearly 25 pounds heavier.
Between 1960 and 1962, the average man weighed just more than 166 pounds. Forty years later, it was up to 191 pounds. Women's weight rose from 140 to 164 pounds over the same period.The weight increase was highest among older men and younger women. Men's height has increased from 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-9½ inches. Women have gone from 5-foot-3 to 5-foot-4. Taking into account weight and height, the average body mass index -- a weight-for-height formula used to measure obesity -- has increased from about 25 to 28. Anyone with a BMI of 25 or above is considered overweight, according to government guidelines. A BMI score of 30 or higher is considered obese. 
Check Your Body Mass Index
The average heights and weights for children are increasing as well. In 1960, the average weight of a 10-year-old boy was about 74 pounds, and in 2002, it was up to nearly 85 pounds. The average weight for girls in the same age group increased from 77.4 pounds to nearly 88 pounds.
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Check Your Body Mass IndexThe average heights and weights for children are increasing as well. In 1960, the average weight of a 10-year-old boy was about 74 pounds, and in 2002, it was up to nearly 85 pounds. The average weight for girls in the same age group increased from 77.4 pounds to nearly 88 pounds.
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