Ask Mr. Pedometer and Friends…
December 26, 2018
Q: Mr. Pedometer, perhaps you can settle a disagreement between me and my brother: I say that each generation of Americans is getting bigger, but he says that no longer is true. Which of us is correct?
A: In a way, both of you are: Americans are not getting taller, but we ARE getting heavier!
The Associated Press reported in our local newspaper the recently released results of a 2015-16 survey by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention involving over 5,000 USA adults. Their findings included the following:
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“The average U.S. adult is overweight and just a few pounds from obese,
thanks to weight increases in all groups – but particularly whites and Hispanics.” -
“Overall, the average height for men actually fell very slightly over the past decade. There was no change for women.”
- “One factor may be the shift in the country’s population: There’s a growing number of Mexican-Americans, and that group tends to be a little shorter….”
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“CDC records date back to the early 1960’s, when the average man was a little over 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighed 166 pounds. Now men are almost an inch taller and more than 30 pounds heavier.”
- But today’s average height of 5 feet, 9 inches is about a tenth of an inch shorter than a decade ago.”
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“The average woman in the early 1960’s was 5 feet, 3 inches and 140 pounds. Now, women are half an inch taller and about 30 pounds heavier, on average. The average height is about the same as it was a decade earlier: 5 feet, 4 inches.”
That report just confirms my sign-off advice: We all need to…