Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data has revealed that the average American woman today stands at par with the average man in the 1960s, in her weight! The statistics show that both men and women in America have gained weight over the last 50 years, with each gaining approx. 30 pounds.

Since 1960s, the average weight of a woman has increased by 18.5%, from 140 pounds to 166 pounds, and the weight of the average American man has equally risen, a 17.6% increase from 166.3 pounds to 195.5 pounds.

The average American woman today weighs 166.2 pounds which is just a speck below the average American man's weight of 166.3 pounds in 1960.

CDC data also stated an average increase of about one inch in the height of both men and women from 1960. The CDC reports further claims that that more than one-third of American adults over the age of 20 and one-fifth of children between six and 19 are obese.

The news website, Vox has attributed the reasons for weight gain to the unhealthy lifestyle changes. The site posted that more than half of the food budget of Americans is spent on restaurant foods or processed, easy-to-make meals which results in the intake of more calories.

Vox added, "The total calorie intake of an average American grew from 2,109 calories in 1970 to 2,568 calories in 2010".

The BMC study alarms that average Americans are 33 pounds heavier than the French counterparts and 40 pounds heavier than Japanese. BMC asserts that solving the obesity epidemic 'may be critical to world food security and ecological sustainability'.