03/19/2026
Nearly Half of American Adults Projected to Be Obese by 2035.
If current trends continue, it is estimated that 47% of adults in the United States—about 126 million people—will be obese by 2036, a five–percentage point increase from 2022. Experts warn that without population-wide interventions to reverse course, the nation will likely experience age-adjusted increases in heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers, and premature death.
Journal of the American Medical Association, January 2026