--- title: How Many Americans Are Obese: Metabolic Syndrome Prevalence Increases description: More than a third of U.S. adults have metabolic syndrome, a set of health conditions like obesity associated with cardiovascular disease canonical: https://time.com/3887131/metabolic-syndrome-obesity/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-19T15:00:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T07:26:45.226Z article:section: Health og:title: More Than a Third of U.S. Adults Have Metabolic Syndrome og:description: More than a third of U.S. adults have metabolic syndrome, a set of health conditions like obesity associated with cardiovascular disease og:url: https://time.com/3887131/metabolic-syndrome-obesity/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc56bd09f6b6c17ad/6987788e5f570f6560b148ec/health-weight-scale-2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME.com stock photos Weight Loss Health Exercise Scale og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: More Than a Third of U.S. Adults Have Metabolic Syndrome twitter:description: More than a third of U.S. adults have metabolic syndrome, a set of health conditions like obesity associated with cardiovascular disease twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc56bd09f6b6c17ad/6987788e5f570f6560b148ec/health-weight-scale-2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # More Than a Third of U.S. Adults Have Metabolic Syndrome ## Video: The Truth About Fat [Watch (HLS stream): The Truth About Fat](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/uYGhfNfS.m3u8) (5:15)  _Published 2014-06-12. When you want to lose weight or get healthy, what is the first thing you would normally cut from your diet? If you said fat, you're not alone_  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent May 19, 2015 3:00 PM UTC  Elizabeth Renstrom for TIME  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent May 19, 2015 3:00 PM UTC Metabolic syndrome—a set of health conditions including high blood pressure and too much abdominal fat that increase risk for stroke and heart disease—now affects more than one in three U.S. adults, according to a new [study](http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/jama.2015.4260) in JAMA. The study, which used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, found that the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the U.S. increased from 32.9% in 2003-2004 to 34.7% in 2011-2012\. It stayed steady between 2007-2008 and 2011-2012—a leveling off likely due to increased awareness about the risks of metabolic syndrome, the researchers write. Obesity prevalence, which is closely linked to the condition, has also stabilized, they note. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome varied between people of different racial backgrounds. Hispanics had the highest prevalence of metabolic syndrome at 39%, followed by whites at 37.4% and blacks at 35.5%. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3887131/metabolic-syndrome-obesity/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3887131/metabolic-syndrome-obesity/"},"headline":"More Than a Third of U.S. Adults Have Metabolic Syndrome","datePublished":"2015-05-19T15:00:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:26:45.226Z","description":"35% of us are at greater risk for all kinds of diseases","url":"https://time.com/3887131/metabolic-syndrome-obesity/","keywords":["Obesity","Research","cardiovascular disease"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc56bd09f6b6c17ad/6987788e5f570f6560b148ec/health-weight-scale-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc56bd09f6b6c17ad/6987788e5f570f6560b148ec/health-weight-scale-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TIME.com stock photos Weight Loss Health Exercise Scale","caption":"TIME.com stock photos Weight Loss Health Exercise Scale","creditText":"Elizabeth Renstrom for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/obesity/","name":"Obesity"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3887131/metabolic-syndrome-obesity/","name":"More Than a Third of U.S. Adults Have Metabolic Syndrome"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Truth About Fat","description":"When you want to lose weight or get healthy, what is the first thing you would normally cut from your diet? 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