Number of Obese Americans to Hit 42%

Experts are saying the obesity rate in the United States will eventually “top out” at 42%, up 8% from a 2007 prediction of 34%.Common risks of obesity include type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and stroke.

Writing in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Computational Biology, researchers expect the number of obese people in the United States to climb to 42% over the next 40 years.

In the study, a mathematical model was applied to four decades of data from the Framingham study; a long term study analyzing the health and habits of a town in Massachusetts.

The researchers say the friends you keep may explain the continued increase in obesity; an American has an additional 0.5% chance of becoming obese with each obese social contact, i.e. friend, they make per year.

Obesity and the desire to lose weight have created a huge weight-loss market in the United States. In 2003, a report claimed Americans spend between $40 and $100 billion on diet products every year.

According to a World Health Organization estimate, in 2007, 400 million adults were obese worldwide.

Image credit: Erupting Mind