The average weight of American women is as much as the average weight of American men in 1960, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In 1960, the average American male weighed about 166.3 pounds, which was the average weight for American women in 2010 at 166.2 pounds, which marks about a 18.5 percent increase. The average weight for women in 1960 was 140 pounds,
according to the CDC report.
The average weight for men has also increased to 195.5 pounds, gaining almost 30 pounds, which is a 17.6 percent increase.
Both men and women have also gained about an inch in height since the 1960s. The changes in height have been factored into some of the weight gain.
According to the CDC data, 35.1 percent of American adults over the age of 20 are obese. Sixty-nine percent of American adults, who are over 20 years of age, are either overweight or obese.
More than 20 percent of American children, who are between 12 and 19 years of age are categorized as obese, and American children from six years of age to 11 years old are also considered obese.
In 2012, the United States came in third following the Pacific island nations Micronesia and Tonga for having the highest average weight in the world,
according to a study by BMC Public Health.
By comparison, the average American weighs 33 pounds more than the average Frenchman and 70 pounds more than the average person from Bangladesh.
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