BMI trend flips: lower-income Americans now average 30.6, wealthier 29.0

Lower-income Americans now carry a higher average Body Mass Index than their wealthier counterparts, according to Cointelegraph. The numbers: 30.6 for lower-income Americans versus 29.0 for those with more money — a gap of 1.6 points that flips a long-standing pattern.

The reversal is the headline. Historically the trend ran the other way, with higher BMI tracked among wealthier groups. Now the curve has crossed, and the people with less money are the ones averaging more body mass.

BMI measures weight relative to height, and 30 is the line widely used to mark obesity — a threshold both groups now sit at or near. That makes the 30.6 reading for lower-income Americans the more striking of the two.

Cointelegraph didn't stop at the stat. The outlet asked whether the higher cost of healthy food could be driving the gap — a question, not a conclusion, and one that puts grocery prices squarely in the frame.

No cause has been established, and the outlet offered no research behind the affordability theory. What's on the table is a flipped trend and an open question about what's behind it.