Obesity rising among American adults: Study

Washington: Over one-third adults and 17 percent of youth in the US were obese during 2011-2014, says a new survey by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Despite years of efforts to reduce obesity in America, such as First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign, obesity prevalence increased among adults and youth from 1999 through 2014, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the study, published on Thursday by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, rates of obesity rose to nearly 38 percent in 2013-14, up from about 30.5 percent 15 years ago.

The prevalence of obesity was higher among women than among men overall and was lowest among non-Hispanic Asian adults compared with other racial and Hispanic origin groups. Non-Hispanic Asians primarily comprise persons of Chinese, Asian Indian, Korean, Filipino, Vietnamese, and Japanese descent.

Among youth, no difference in obesity prevalence was seen between males and females, except among non-Hispanic Asian youth.

The information was taken from about 5,000 participants who were surveyed by the CDC.