Glow’s ND Dr. Rachel Erikson forwarded this email to me today and I thought I’d pass it along.

The report, Mean Body Weight, Height, and Body Mass Index (BMI) 1960-2002: United States, shows that the average height of a man aged 20-74 years increased from just over 5’8″ in 1960 to 5’9½” in 2002, while the average height of a woman the same age increased from slightly over 5’3″ 1960 to 5’4″ in 2002.

Meanwhile, the average weight for men aged 20-74 years rose dramatically from 166.3 pounds in 1960 to 191 pounds in 2002, while the average weight for women the same age increased from 140.2 pounds in 1960 to 164.3 pounds in 2002.

Though the average weight for men aged 20-39 years increased by nearly 20 pounds over the last four decades, the increase was greater among older men:

  • Men between the ages of 40 and 49 were nearly 27 pounds heavier on average in 2002 compared to 1960.
  • Men between the ages of 50 and 59 were nearly 28 pounds heavier on average in 2002 compared to 1960.
  • Men between the ages of 60 and 74 were almost 33 pounds heavier on average in 2002 compared to 1960.

For women, the near opposite trend occurred:

  • Women aged 20-29 were nearly 29 pounds heavier on average in 2002 compared to 1960.
  • Women aged 40-49 were about 25½ pounds heavier on average in 2002 compared to 1960.
  • Women aged 60-74 were about 17½ pounds heavier on average in 2002 compared to 1960.