10-Year Weight Gain Substantial for U.S. Adults

TUESDAY, June 28, 2022 (HealthDay News) — More than one-third of U.S. adults gained 10 percent body weight or more over the last 10 years, according to a study recently published in the Journal of Obesity.

Larry A. Tucker, Ph.D., and Kayla Parker, both from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and colleagues examined 10-year weight gain patterns in 13,802 U.S. adults from 2011 to 2018. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, data for 2019 to 2020 were not available.

The researchers found that mean 10-year weight gain was 4.2 kg or 6.6 percent of initial body weight. More than half of participants (51 percent) gained 5 percent or more body weight, while more than one-third (36 percent) gained ≥10 percent and 16 percent gained ≥20 percent across 10 years. When adjusting for age and race, age was linearly and inversely associated with 10-year weight gain, expressed in kilograms or percent weight gain. When adjusting for age and race, 10-year weight gain was significantly greater in women (5.4 kg) versus men (2.6 kg). Non-Hispanic Blacks gained more weight, while Asians gained less weight than the other races.

“Without question, 10-year weight gain is a serious problem within the U.S. adult population,” the authors write. “Consequently, obesity and weight gain prevention programs focusing on these at-risk individuals should be a public health priority.”

Abstract/Full Text