<P> Obesity in the United States has been increasingly cited as a major health issue in recent decades, resulting in diseases such as coronary heart disease that lead to mortality . While many industrialized countries have experienced similar increases, obesity rates in the United States are the highest in the world . </P> <P> Obesity has continued to grow within the United States . Two of every three American men are considered to be overweight or obese, but the rates for women are far higher . The United States contains one of the highest percentage of obese people in the world . Obesity has led to over 100 preventable deaths each year in the United States . An obese person in America incurs an average of $1,429 more in medical expenses annually . Approximately $147 billion is spent in added medical expenses per year within the United States . This number is suspected to increase approximately $1.24 billion per year until the year 2030 . </P> <P> The United States had the highest rate of obesity within the OECD grouping of large trading economies, . From 23% obesity in 1962, estimates have steadily increased . The following statistics comprise adults age 20 and over living at or near the poverty level . The obesity percentages for the overall US population are higher reaching 39.4% in 1997, 44.5% in 2004, 56.6% in 2007, and 63.8% (adults) and 17% (children) in 2008 . In 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported higher numbers once more, counting 65.7% of American adults as obese, and 17% of American children, and according to the CDC, 63% teenage girls become overweight by age 11 . In 2013 the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that 57.6% of American citizens were obese . The organization estimates that 3 / 4 of the American population will likely be overweight or obese by 2020 . The latest figures from the CDC as of 2014 show that more than one - third (36.5%) of U.S. adults age 20 and older and 17% of children and adolescents aged 2--19 years were obese . A second study from the National Center for Health Statistics at the CDC showed that 37.7% of US adults age 20 and older were obese as of 2014 (35.0% for men and 40.4% for women). </P> <P> Obesity has been cited as a contributing factor to approximately 100--400 deaths in the United States per year and has increased health care use and expenditures, costing society an estimated $117 billion in direct (preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services related to weight) and indirect (absenteeism, loss of future earnings due to premature death) costs . This exceeds health care costs associated with smoking and accounts for 6% to 12% of national health care expenditures in the United States . </P>

From 1960 to 2008 the percent of american adults who were obese rose how much percent