Mean Body Weight, Height, and Body Mass Index, United States 1960–2002

Number 347 + October 27, 2004

Mean Body Weight, Height, and Body Mass Index, United States 1960?2002

by Cynthia L. Ogden, Ph.D.; Cheryl D. Fryar, M.S.P.H.; Margaret D. Carroll, M.S.P.H.; and Katherine M. Flegal, Ph.D., Division of Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys

Abstract

This report presents trends in national estimates of mean weight, height, and body mass index (BMI) from the National Health Examination and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys between 1960 and 2002. The tables included in this report present data for adults by sex, race/ethnicity, and age group and for children by sex and year of age. Mean weight and BMI have increased for both sexes, all race/ethnic groups, and all ages. Among adults, mean weight increased more than 24 pounds. Although not as dramatically, mean height has also increased for most ages and for both males and females.

Keywords: body weight c height c National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)

Introduction

During the last 2 decades the prevalence of obesity and overweight has increased in the United States (1?3). This is in part due to a shift in the distribution of BMI (BMI, weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) of the entire population (4). This report presents the changes in mean body weight, height, and BMI for the entire U.S. population from 1960 to 2002.

Methods

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) program of the National Center for

Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, includes a series of cross-sectional nationally representative health examination surveys beginning in 1960. In each survey a nationally representative sample of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population was selected using a complex, stratified, multistage probability cluster sampling design. A home interview was followed by a physical examination in a mobile examination center.

Beginning in 1999, NHANES became a continuous survey. The procedures followed to select the sample and conduct the interview and examination were similar to those for

previous surveys. Public-use data from the continuous NHANES are released in 2-year groupings; however, the most stable and reliable estimates are obtained from more than 2 years of data. Previous national surveys include the first, second, and third National Health Examination Surveys (NHES I, 1960?62; NHES II, 1963?65; NHES III, 1966?70) and the first, second, and third National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES I, 1971?74; NHANES II, 1976?80; NHANES III, 1988?94). A special study of Hispanic populations (the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES)) in three regions of the United States was conducted from 1982 to 1984. The Mexican-American subpopulation sampled in HHANES was located entirely in the southwestern United States (5).

Population means and standard errors of the mean are weighted to produce national estimates. The sample weights adjust for oversampling of certain populations, noncoverage, and nonresponse. Standard errors were estimated using SUDAAN by Taylor Series Linearization (6). A relative standard error (RSE) greater than 30 percent has been recommended to

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics

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Advance Data No. 347 + October 27, 2004

define estimates that are not reliable. In these tables, all of the RSEs met this reliability criterion. Pregnant females were excluded from all the analyses.

Statistical tests on trends were modeled using PROC REGRESS. All models included interaction terms for age and survey because mean age within an age group (e.g., 20?29 years) may have varied by survey. Significance was determined using the WALD F test (7). Tests for trends on the total groups of adults (20?74 years of age) were done on age-adjusted values; consequently, no interaction terms were included. When only two surveys were available (i.e., 20 years and over, etc.), differences were evaluated using t-tests. Significance was determined at the 0.05 level.

Results

Tables 1 and 2 show the mean weights for children over time in English and Metric units. Among 6?11-year-old children, mean weight increased from approximately 65 pounds in 1963?5 to almost 74 pounds in 1999?2002. This represents almost a 9pound increase for both boys and girls 6?11 years of age. Among 12?17-yearold teens, the mean weight of boys increased more than 15 pounds from 125 to 141 pounds and the mean weight of girls increased approximately 12 pounds from 118 to 130 pounds between the 1960s and 2002. Mean heights for children are found in tables 3 and 4. Mean heights also increased between the 1960s and 2002 with the mean height of boys 6?11 years of age increasing 0.8 inches and the mean height of girls 6?11 years of age increasing 0.6 inches. Among 12?17-year-old teens, the mean height of boys increased 0.7 inches while that of girls increased 0.3 inches, although these findings were not statistically significant. Mean BMIs for children are found in table 5. Among both boys and girls 12?17 years of age mean BMI increased by more than 4 units between 1963?5 and 1999?2002.

Changes in adult weight and height are shown in tables 6?9 in both English and Metric units. On average, both men and women gained more than 24 pounds between the early 1960s and 2002. During the same time period, mean

height increased approximately 1 inch. In 1999?2002 mean weight of men 20 years and over was almost 190 pounds while among women the mean weight was approximately 163 pounds. Mean height for men in 1999?2002 was approximately 69 inches and for women was approximately 64 inches. Changes in mean BMI (table 10) have also occurred. Between the early 1960s and 1999?2002 mean BMI for men 20?74 years of age increased from just over 25 to almost 28. Similarly, for women mean BMI increased from almost 25 to just over 28.

Changes in average weight by race/ethnicity are shown in tables 11 and 12. Between NHANES III and NHANES 1999?2002 mean weight of non-Hispanic white adults increased approximately 10 pounds. Among non-Hispanic black or African American men the increase was approximately 8 pounds, but among black or African American men 60 years and over the increase was over 13 pounds. The average weight of non-Hispanic black or African American women increased approximately 13 pounds with the largest increase in the 20?39 year age group (more than 16 pounds). Among Mexican Americans the increase was 4?5 pounds. However, the increase in average weight among Mexican American men 60?74 years of age between HHANES in the early 1980s and NHANES 1999?2002 was over 19 pounds. Between NHANES III and NHANES 1999?2002 average height increased less than one-half an inch for non-Hispanic white persons, nonHispanic black or African American persons, and Mexican American persons (tables 13 and 14). Table 15 shows mean BMIs by race/ethnicity. Among non-Hispanic white persons, nonHispanic black or African American, and Mexican Americans mean BMI has increased. Among Mexican Americans 20?74 years of age mean BMI increased approximately 2 units for both men and women between 1982?4 and 1999? 2002. Non-Hispanic black or African American women 20 years and over

have seen a similar increase between 1988?94 and 1999?2002.

Conclusions

Average weight has increased dramatically in the last 40 years with the greatest increases seen in adults. Mean BMI has also increased. Although height has also increased this increase has been much more modest.

References

1. Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Ogden CL, Johnson CL. Prevalence and trends in obesity among U.S. adults, 1999?2000. JAMA 288:1723?7. 2002.

2. Ogden CL, Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Johnson CL. Prevalence and trends in overweight among U.S. children and adolescents, 1999?2000. JAMA 288:1728?32. 2002.

3. Hedley AA, Ogden CL, Johnson CL, Carroll, MD, Curtin LR, Flegal KM. Prevalence of overweight and obesity among U.S. children, adolescents, and adults, 1999?2002. JAMA 291:2847?50. 2004.

4. Flegal KM, Troiano RP. Changes in the distribution of body mass index of adults and children in the U.S. population. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 24(7):807?18. 2000.

5. More information on the NHANES survey design and data collection methods, as well as public-use microdata files, can be found at the NHANES Web site: http:// nchs/nhanes.htm.

6. Wolter KM. Introduction to variance estimation, New York: SpringerVerlag. 1990.

7. Skinner CJ, Holt D, Smith TMF. Analysis of complex surveys, Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. 1989.

Table 1. Mean weight (pounds) by survey, sex, and age; children: United States

NHES II, 1963?65

NHES III, 1966?70

NHANES I, 1971?74

NHANES II, 1976?80

NHANES III, 1988?94

NHANES 1999?2002

Sex and age

Sample size

Mean

Standard error of the mean

Sample size

Mean

Standard error of the mean

Sample size

Mean

Standard error of the mean

Sample size

Mean

Standard error of the mean

Sample size

Mean

Standard error of the mean

Sample size

Mean

Standard error of the mean

Advance Data No. 347 + October 27, 2004

Male

2 years . . . . . . . . . - - -

---

---

3 years . . . . . . . . . . - - -

---

---

4 years1 . . . . . . . . .

---

---

---

5 years1 . . . . . . . . .

---

---

---

6 years1 . . . . . . . . . 575

48.4

0.3

7 years1 . . . . . . . . . 632

54.3

0.4

8 years1 . . . . . . . . . 618

61.1

0.5

9 years1 . . . . . . . . . 603

68.5

0.9

10 years1 . . . . . . . . 576

74.2

0.6

11 years1. . . . . . . . . 595

84.1

0.7

12 years1 . . . . . . . .

---

---

---

13 years1 . . . . . . . .

---

---

---

14 years1 . . . . . . . .

---

---

---

15 years1 . . . . . . . .

---

---

---

16 years1 . . . . . . . .

---

---

---

17 years1 . . . . . . . .

---

---

---

18 years1 . . . . . . . .

---

---

---

19 years1 . . . . . . . .

---

---

---

Female

2 years1 . . . . . . . . .

---

---

---

3 years1 . . . . . . . . .

---

---

---

4 years1 . . . . . . . . .

---

---

---

5 years . . . . . . . . . . - - -

---

---

6 years . . . . . . . . . . 536

47.4

0.5

7 years1 . . . . . . . . . 609

53.2

0.4

8 years1 . . . . . . . . . 613

60.6

0.5

9 years1 . . . . . . . . . 581

69.1

0.8

10 years1 . . . . . . . . 584

77.4

0.9

11 years1. . . . . . . . . 525

87.6

1.0

12 years1 . . . . . . . .

---

---

---

13 years1 . . . . . . . .

---

---

---

14 years1 . . . . . . . .

---

---

---

15 years1 . . . . . . . .

---

---

---

16 years1 . . . . . . . .

---

---

---

17 years1 . . . . . . . .

---

---

---

18 years1 . . . . . . . .

---

---

---

19 years1 . . . . . . . .

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

643

94.4

0.8

626 110.0

1.0

618 124.6

1.4

613 135.5

0.8

556 142.6

1.2

458 149.8

1.0

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

547 102.5

0.8

582 111.0

1.0

586 119.2

0.9

503 124.2

1.1

536 127.7

1.5

442 126.7

1.4

---

---

---

---

---

---

298

29.8

0.4

308

34.3

0.3

304

39.0

0.3

273

44.4

0.4

179

48.5

0.7

164

54.8

0.9

152

58.1

0.7

169

69.5

1.7

184

75.3

1.2

178

85.4

1.8

200

96.8

1.8

174 109.9

2.1

174 123.8

2.1

171 132.6

2.7

169 147.2

2.8

176 151.0

2.4

124 163.4

2.8

136 159.7

2.8

272

28.5

0.3

292

33.1

0.4

281

37.0

0.4

314

43.3

0.6

176

47.5

0.7

169

53.4

0.9

152

60.5

1.1

171

70.3

1.2

197

74.4

1.3

166

90.7

1.8

177 102.8

2.3

198 113.9

2.3

184 120.2

2.2

167 124.6

2.0

171 124.9

2.3

150 130.8

3.6

141 128.1

2.4

130 131.0

3.2

370

29.5

0.2

421

34.2

0.3

405

38.8

0.3

393

43.4

0.3

146

50.2

0.8

150

54.8

0.8

145

61.6

1.4

141

67.6

1.4

165

79.7

1.6

153

87.4

2.0

147

96.9

2.2

165 108.9

2.6

188 124.0

1.9

180 134.7

2.2

180 146.3

2.6

183 146.6

1.7

156 156.4

2.6

150 158.0

1.9

330

28.2

0.1

367

32.5

0.2

388

37.0

0.3

369

42.7

0.6

150

48.1

0.8

154

54.2

1.0

125

60.6

0.9

154

69.7

1.6

128

78.6

1.4

143

91.1

1.9

146 101.3

2.0

155 112.0

2.6

181 119.5

2.3

144 121.1

1.9

167 126.9

1.9

134 131.1

2.1

156 129.9

2.2

158 131.5

2.1

644

29.9

0.2

516

34.7

0.4

549

38.8

0.4

497

44.1

0.4

283

51.1

1.2

269

57.8

1.0

266

66.5

1.9

281

75.7

2.1

297

82.1

1.9

281

93.5

2.0

203 108.0

2.4

187 118.8

2.2

188 141.0

7.9

187 147.2

4.2

194 151.2

3.6

196 160.3

2.9

176 156.8

3.7

168 160.6

4.7

624

29.0

0.2

587

33.9

0.3

537

39.3

0.8

554

44.3

0.5

272

49.7

1.3

274

58.1

1.7

248

65.7

1.4

280

75.6

2.7

258

83.4

2.7

275

97.1

2.4

236 107.8

2.6

220 122.8

3.5

218 128.6

3.0

191 127.8

2.3

208 134.9

3.0

201 137.3

2.6

175 134.6

4.1

177 138.9

4.2

262

30.2

0.2

216

35.0

0.4

179

40.8

0.5

147

46.9

1.1

182

51.7

0.9

185

59.8

1.0

214

72.0

2.1

174

79.2

1.5

187

84.9

1.8

182

96.2

2.4

299 110.9

2.8

298 118.6

4.1

266 140.5

3.6

283 150.3

2.5

306 163.7

3.0

313 166.3

3.0

284 166.4

2.5

270 172.1

2.8

248

29.2

0.3

178

33.4

0.5

191

39.5

0.7

186

45.3

1.3

171

49.2

1.1

196

56.9

1.0

184

70.1

2.6

183

78.0

1.6

164

87.9

2.3

194 105.4

2.9

316 114.3

2.3

321 127.0

3.0

324 131.7

2.2

266 134.4

3.7

273 138.5

2.6

256 135.8

2.7

243 143.5

3.3

225 149.3

2.7

? ? ? Data not available. 1Statistically significant trend or difference p ................
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