Don’t cheer the end of America’s obesity crisis just yet

WAISTLINES IN AMERICA have been growing for decades. Now there are signs that the country may finally be slimming down. A year ago the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the share of Americans who are obese—defined as having a body-mass index (BMI) of 30 or more—fell from 41.9% in 2020 to 40.3% in 2023. In October Gallup, a pollster, reported that its own measure of America’s obesity rate dropped from 39.9% in 2022 to 37.0% in 2025. Media outlets cheered the news. But a closer look at the data suggests there are reasons to be sceptical.