Retrieved from: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19845784/wid/11915773?GT1=10212 on July 19, 2007
WASHINGTON - If people keep gaining
weight at the current rate, fat will be the norm
by 2015, with 75
percent of U.S. adults overweight and 41 percent
obese, U.S. researchers predicted on Wednesday.
A team at Johns Hopkins University in
Baltimore examined 20 studies published in
journals and looked at
national surveys of weight and behavior for
their analysis, published in the journal
Epidemiologic Reviews.
“Obesity is a public health crisis. If
the rate of obesity and overweight continues at
this pace, by 2015, 75
percent of adults and nearly 24 percent of U.S.
children and adolescents will be overweight or
obese,” Dr.
Youfa Wang, who led the study, said in a
statement.
They
defined adult
overweight and
obesity using a
standard medical
definition
called body mass
index.
People with a
BMI of 25 or
above are
considered
overweight,
while those with
BMIs of 30 or
above are
obese and at
serious risk of
heart disease,
diabetes and
some cancers.
Studies
show that 66
percent of U.S.
adults were
overweight or
obese in 2003
and 2004. An
alarming 80
percent of black
women aged 40 or
over are
overweight and
50 percent are
obese.
Sixteen
percent of U.S.
children and
adolescents are
overweight and
34 percent are
at risk of
becoming
overweight,
according to
federal
government
figures.
Every group is steadily getting heavier, Wang said.
“Our
analysis showed
patterns of
obesity or
overweight for
various groups
of Americans,”
said May
Beydoun, who
worked on the
study.
“Obesity
is likely to
continue to
increase, and if
nothing is done,
it will soon
become the
leading
preventable
cause of death
in the United
States.”