Studies have suggested that obesity prevalence varies by income and educational level, although patterns might differ between high-income and low-income countries. Previous analyses of U.S. data have shown that the prevalence of obesity varied by income and education.
Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), CDC analyzed obesity prevalence among adults (aged 20 years) by three levels of household income, based on percentage of the federal poverty level (FPL) and individual education level (high school graduate or less, some college, and college graduate).
During 2011–2014, the age-adjusted prevalence of obesity among adults was lower in the highest income group (31.2%) than the other groups (40.8%). The age-adjusted prevalence of obesity among college graduates was lower (27.8%) than among those with some college (40.6%) and those who were high school graduates or less (40.0%).