America's Waist Size is Still Going Up
Americans' belt size continues to inch up, and women's waistlines are widening faster than men's, according to new government research. The average waist size ballooned more than an inch -- from 37.6 inches to 38.8 inches -- between 1999 and 2012, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers found. Based on their waist circumference, 54 percent of Americans were abdominally obese in 2012, up from 46 percent 13 years earlier. "Waists are still expanding in the U.S., and particularly so among women," said study researcher Dr. Earl Ford, a medical officer at the CDC. While men's waists increased less than an inch -- about 0.8 of an inch on average -- women's midriffs grew about twice that, or 1.5 inches, Ford said. Waistlines larger than 35 inches for women and more than 40 inches for men are considered abdominal obesity, a risk factor for heart disease and diabetes. Waist circumference is a simple tool that reflects the amount of