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. 2019 Jan 17;9:16. doi: 10.1038/s41398-018-0341-1

Table 1.

Prevalence of adult (age 18–64) weight status and recalled childhood weight status in U.S. population in 2012–2013 overall and by gender (N = 28,730)

U.S. sample age 18–64 Total (n = 28,730) Men (n = 13,393) Womena (n = 15,337) Test of gender difference
N % (se) N % (se) N % (se)
Adult current weight statusb
Underweight (BMI < 18.5) 286 1.05 (0.08) 71 0.61 (0.08) 215 1.52 (0.14) <0.0001
Normal weight (BMI 18.5–30) 18193 64.69 (0.54) 8741 64.98 (0.65) 9452 64.38 (0.67)
Obese (not extreme) (BMI 30–40) 8343 28.33 (0.42) 3960 29.83 (0.57) 4383 26.76 (0.51)
Extreme Obese (BMI > 40) 1908 5.93 (0.23) 621 4.57 (0.23) 1287 7.35 (0.34)
Childhood overweight status (age < 13)c
Overweight 4325 15.48 (0.29) 1885 14.66 (0.41) 2440 16.34 (0.42) 0.0049
Not overweight 24350 84.52 (0.29) 11481 85.34 (0.41) 12869 83.66 (0.42)
Adult weight status among those overweight in childhood
Total (n = 4325) Men (n = 1885) Women (n = 2440)
Obese (>30) 2597 59.28 (1.12) 1111 59.97 (1.46) 1486 58.64 (1.54) 0.45
Extreme Obese (>40) 767 16.64 (0.77) 261 13.93 (0.99) 506 19.19 (1.11) 0.0003
Adult weight status among those NOT overweight in childhood
Total (n = 24,350) Men (n = 11,481) Women (n = 12,869)
Obese (>30) 7622 29.62 (0.52) 3457 29.98 (0.63) 4165 29.24 (0.66) 0.35
Extreme obese (>40) 1138 3.97 (0.19) 358 2.96 (0.21) 780 5.04 (0.28) <0.0001

aWomen who were currently or recently pregnant within past year (n = 1302) were not included

bBody mass index (BMI) derived from self-reported height and weight in response to question “Please tell me your height and weight in pounds as these are important factors for this survey.” N = 652 subjects were not included due to missing height or weight and 11 subjects were not included due to outlying values: BMI <12 or height <3 feet. Lowest underweight BMI in sample = 13, highest severe obese BMI in sample = 85

cAfter being asked to report their current height and weight, adult respondents were asked “When you were growing up, that is, before you were 13 years old, were you overweight? Yes/No”