A Taller, Fatter America

Americans have gotten a bit taller -- about an inch -- since 1960. But they've also gained a lot of weight, and health officials worry that most of it is from fat caused by eating too much junk food. Government figures released Wednesday show that the average American male now stands at 5 feet 9 inches, up from 5 feet 8 inches in 1960. Women have grown an inch, too, to 5 feet 4 inches tall. But both sexes have also gotten heavier -- 25 pounds on average -- and that looks bad on the body mass index, a height-for-weight formula used to measure obesity. So drop the Whopper, lard butt, and try eating a salad once in a while.
-- Tony Long