This Many Americans Need To Go On A Diet ASAP, According To New CDC Report

It shouldn't come as that big of a surprise that Americans, in general, are pretty fat. In the news, all you ever hear about are climbing obesity rates followed by -- or sometimes placed side by side -- ads for Big Macs and mountains of fries.

The latest CDC report confirms what we likely already know: Americans are fatter than ever.

Starting in 1957, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been surveying American adults about their health and the wellbeing of their families as part of the National Health Interview Survey. In its latest report, which takes data from the 2015 national survey, the CDC analyzed the health of 100,000 people to come to its findings.

While there are some positives -- people are smoking less and signing up for health insurance more, for example -- the report showed that obesity is clearly on the rise. As of 2015, 30.4 percent of Americans aged 20 and up say they are obese, which is up from 29.6 percent in 2014. That's also assuming people are telling the truth and not underreporting their weight (who would ever think to do that??).

By comparison, a National Health and Nutrition Survey reported in 2012 that 34.9 percent of adults aged 20 and up were obese. Either way, the trend seems to be clear. Rising obesity rates are likely correlated with rising diabetes rates as well, which means there's no time like the present to start eating more salad.

Citations: Americans are fatter than ever, CDC survey finds (CNN)