Without ‘immediate action’ nearly 260 million Americans will be overweight or obese by 2050

Without immediate action, researchers have warned that nearly 260 million Americans, an increase of more than 41 million adults, will be considered overweight or obese by 2050.

That includes 213 million adults over 25 – nearly three-quarters of the adult population – and more than 43 million children and adolescents between the ages of five and 24.

Around one in five children, at least one in three adolescents, and two in three adults are expected to have obesity, with the highest levels concentrated in southern states.

“Our analysis lays bare the decades-long failure to tackle the growing overweight and obesity epidemic in the USA. The catastrophic consequences of the surge in overweight and obesity among children are already evident in the rising prevalence of childhood hypertension and type 2 diabetes,” University of Washington Professor Emmanuela Gakidou said in a statement.

She noted that being obese or overweight can trigger serious health conditions like diabetes, heart attacks, stroke, cancer, mental health disorders, and premature death.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 14 November 2024