Summary
A new Lancet study reveals nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, a sharp rise from just over half in 1990.
Obesity among adults doubled to over 40%, while rates among girls and women aged 15–24 nearly tripled to 29%.
The study highlights significant health risks, including diabetes, heart disease, and shortened life expectancy, alongside projected medical costs of up to $9.1 trillion over the next decade.
Experts stress obesity’s complex causes—genetic, environmental, and social—and call for structural reforms like food subsidies, taxes on sugary drinks, and expanded treatment access.
As usual it is a matter of education and normalisation. I’m a rock climber and am surrounded by shredded people a lot of the time. I’m sitting at around 18-20% body fat which is high for the sport but I am considerably leaner than the guy in your photo.
I can absolutely tell that he is overweight (even with clothes) but that’s because I have invested a lot of time into learning about health and fitness and spend most of my time with people who have a ‘healthy’ BMI. If all you see are overweight and obese people every day then of course you will look at this guy and think he looks perfectly healthy (which he might well be but that’s another discussion).