TABLE 1—
Overall and Body-Weight Characteristics of US Adults Aged 20 Years and Older: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999–2010
| Characteristics | Total, No. (%) | Healthy Weight, No. (%) | Overweight, No. (%) | Obese, No. (%) | P for Difference |
| Total | 23 965 (100) | 7438 (33) | 8662 (35) | 7865 (31) | |
| Gender | |||||
| Male | 12 052 (49) | 3537 (43) | 4973 (58) | 3542 (47) | <.001 |
| Female | 11 913 (51) | 3901 (57) | 3689 (42) | 4323 (53) | |
| Race/ethnicity | |||||
| Non-Hispanic White | 12 152 (72) | 4151 (74) | 4371 (72) | 3630 (69) | <.001 |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 4534 (11) | 1220 (9) | 1432 (9) | 1882 (14) | |
| Mexican American | 6358 (13) | 1625 (10) | 2582 (14) | 2151 (13) | |
| Othera | 921 (5) | 442 (7) | 277 (4) | 202 (3) | |
| Age, y | |||||
| 20–44 | 10 888 (52) | 3819 (58) | 3578 (48) | 3491 (50) | <.001 |
| 45–64 | 7498 (34) | 1878 (28) | 2816 (35) | 2804 (38) | |
| ≥ 65 | 5579 (14) | 1741 (13) | 2268 (17) | 1570 (13) | |
| Education | |||||
| < high school | 6880 (18) | 1932 (17) | 2621 (19) | 2327 (19) | <.001 |
| High school diploma or GED | 5781 (25) | 1744 (24) | 2038 (25) | 1999 (28) | |
| > high school | 11 271 (57) | 3744 (60) | 3993 (55) | 3534 (53) | |
| Marital status | |||||
| Currently married | 12 801 (58) | 3643 (53) | 4896 (61) | 4262 (60) | <.001 |
| Previously married | 5087 (17) | 1530 (17) | 1836 (18) | 1721 (18) | |
| Living with a partner | 1652 (7) | 561 (8) | 580 (7) | 511 (6) | |
| Never married | 4046 (18) | 1592 (22) | 1197 (15) | 1257 (16) | |
| Employment status | |||||
| Unemployed | 8410 (32) | 2620 (33) | 2989 (31) | 2801 (33) | .036 |
| Employed | 12 077 (68) | 3670 (67) | 4425 (69) | 3982 (67) | |
| Incomeb | |||||
| Lower income | 6197 (20) | 1894 (20) | 2149 (18) | 2154 (21) | .002 |
| Higher income | 15 870 (80) | 4934 (80) | 5804 (82) | 5132 (79) | |
| Day of week surveyed | |||||
| Weekday | 14 896 (62) | 4613 (62) | 5358 (61) | 4925 (62) | .759 |
| Weekend | 9069 (38) | 2825 (38) | 3304 (39) | 2940 (38) |
Note. GED = general equivalency diploma. Healthy weight = body mass index (BMI) 18.5–24.99 kg/m2; overweight = BMI 25–29.99 kg/m2; obese = BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2. Percentage of US population estimated with survey weights to adjust for unequal probability of sampling P value measured at the .05 level.
Other includes non-Hispanic multiracial and any other non-Hispanic race categories not included in the listed categories.
Income level was dichotomized based on the poverty index ratio (ratio of annual family income to federal poverty line). Lower income refers to persons below 130% of poverty, which represents eligibility threshold for the federal food stamp program.