American Height and Weight

The chart below shows the distribution of height and weight, based on responses to the 2022 BRFSS survey. Using body mass index (BMI), which is calculated with height and weight, most people fall into the categories of overweight or obese.

Weight and Height Distribution

Larger squares mean the corresponding weight and height is more common among adults. Color represents BMI category.

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Mainly, I was just curious about what a scaled version of the standard BMI chart might look like. And maybe my old pants have been feeling a bit tighter lately.

Notes

The 2022 data comes from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), which is maintained by the CDC. There were 445,000 respondents with answers to many more health-related questions other than what is your height and weight. It seems worth looking at more closely.

Charts made in R. Edited in Illustrator.

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