The number of overweight Americans is holding steady as U.S. consumers are becoming more aware of what they eat, an annual report by market research firm The NPD Group said.

The percent of overweight Americans reached 62 percent for the second year in a row, the report said. The rate had increased every year between 1995 and 2002.

“At some point we knew this would happen,” said NPD Vice President Harry Balzer, the author of the report entitled The Eating Patterns in America. “Americans just couldn’t continue to put on weight.”

The report, which is based on 12 months of data collected through February of this year, found that 27 percent of U.S. consumers say they are conscious of the number of calories in their meals, the highest level in five years.

In addition, consumers ate at restaurants less often than they did in 1985.

The number of restaurant take-out meals Americans eat has also leveled off after increasing for more than 10 years.