After 10 years of spectacular growth, the US obesity rate has leveled off — with about 1/3 of Americans qualifying as obese.

From USAToday:

The obesity trend appears to be slowing down, but the prevalence remains high and continues to be a critical national health concern,” says Cynthia Ogden, an epidemiologist with the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Donna Ryan, president of the Obesity Society, a group of weight-loss researchers and professionals, says she believes it may have plateaued for now, but “to level off at 34% obesity is no great achievement. It’s still very, very alarming. And the high rates of childhood obesity are likely to translate into higher rates of extreme obesity when those children reach adulthood.”

Between 1960 and 1980, only 15% of Americans were obese.

U.S. obesity rate leveling off, at about one-third of adults [USAToday]

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