Today, the average American male measures 5-feet-9 1/4 inches tall and weighs 196 pounds, up 15 pounds from 1996. For women, the increase has been even more dramatic, with the average female measuring 5-feet-3 3/4 inches and weighing 169 pounds, up 17 pounds from 1994, according to the latest analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
These seven charts show how and why it’s gotten easier to gain weight in America and harder to lose it, how and why we now eat more than we burn off.
Just so happens that “in America, the unhealthiest foods are the tastiest foods, the cheapest foods, the largest-portion foods, the most available foods, the most fun foods,” Scott Kahan, director of the National Center for Weight and Wellness told Vox.
