The Average American’s Ideal Weight Is Not So Ideal

December 4, 2012 - 7:04 pm | Category: Health

According to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as the average American’s waistline grows, so does their concept of what the ideal weight for an adult should be.

Men, on average, weigh 196 pounds, and their ideal weight is 185 pounds – that’s 14 pounds heavier than 20 years ago.

Women today weigh, on average, 156 pounds, and their ideal weight is 140 pounds – that’s 11 pounds heavier than 20 years ago.

More survey numbers:

65 percent of Americans exceeded their ideal weight, 13 percent weighed less than their ideal weight and 16 percent were at their ideal weight.

54 percent said that they wanted to lose weight – but only 25 percent said that they were taking any real action to shed the pounds.