2023 Saw Decline in BMI, Obesity Prevalence in the United States

MONDAY, Dec. 23, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Body mass index (BMI) and obesity prevalence declined in the United States in 2023, according to a research letter published online Dec. 13 in JAMA Health Forum.

Benjamin Rader, Ph.D., M.P.H., from Boston Children”s Hospital, and colleagues examined national trends in BMI and obesity among U.S. adults between Jan. 1, 2013, and Dec. 31, 2023. The mean population BMI and percentage of adults with obesity were calculated annually.

Overall, 16,743,822 unique adults contributed 47,939,382 BMI measurements. The researchers observed an increase in mean population BMI annually from 2013 to 2021, followed by a plateauing in 2022, and a slight decrease in 2023 (29.65 to 30.23, 30.24, and 30.21, respectively). The percent changes of adults with obesity followed the same pattern. Obesity prevalence decreased in the South, among individuals aged 66 to 75 years, and among women. In a sensitivity analysis using unweighted data, the 2023 decline in prevalence of obesity was also seen. Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) dispensing differed by region in a subset of individuals with available 2023 insurance claims (South, 6.0 percent; Midwest, 5.1 percent; Northeast, 4.4 percent; West, 3.4 percent).

“These findings suggest that BMI and obesity prevalence in the U.S. decreased in 2023 for the first time in more than a decade,” the authors write. “The most notable decrease was in the South, which had the highest observed per capita GLP-1RA dispensing rate.”

One author disclosed ties to Optum.

Abstract/Full Text