WHY ARE AMERICANS OBESE?
To understand the true size of the American obesity epidemic, we first need to understand what it really means to be overweight. Generally, doctors and nutritionists classify people as either underweight, healthy weight, overweight, or obese. These different classifications are determined by body mass index (BMI), or a measure of body fat based on your height and weight. To get a basic idea, this chart from the CDC approximates what that means for someone who is 5’9” tall.