If you're curious about how the number on your scale compares to others across the country, this will feed your need to know.  

Men and women weigh thirty pounds more now, on average, than people did in the 1960s, and we're not getting any taller.  In fact, the average height for adult men is 5'9", and for women it's 5'4".  And we're carrying around more weight than ever.

The AP said in the early '60s, the average man weighed 166 pounds, and the average woman weighed 140.  We've been packing on the pounds since then.

Now in the US, the average weight for men is 197.9 pounds, and the average woman weighs 170.6 pounds.  And the decimal point matters!  If you're within your ideal range, a .2 is a lot more fun to see than a .9.

There are lots of variables of course, like how much muscle we're carrying around and how tall we are, and all of that impacts how much we weigh.  But the big picture shows waistlines are expanding, and we generally have a two-inch larger circumference than our grandparents did.

How often do you weigh yourself?  Maybe it's only at the doctor's office when they do it for you.  I do it every day on the bathroom scale to keep it all under tight surveillance because weight has been such a struggle for me over the years.  I wore a size 16 in college, and I managed to whittle that down to the low single digits as an adult and I'm determined to keep it there.  I also know how hard it is for women to achieve a goal weight under 135 or 125 and keep it off.

Guys, maybe your goal is to gain weight and beef up a little.   That's fantastic and we'll cheer for you during your journey.  But if you have your sights set on weight loss in 2019, maybe it helps to know that there are a whole lot of other people within your number range on the scale.

Now, if Treasure Valley restaurants would just stop making all that great food...

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