Three out of four Americans will be overweight or obese by 2020
165 replies, posted
[quote]Number of fat people in US to grow, report says[/quote]
[quote] Citizens of the world's richest countries are getting fatter and fatter and the United States is leading the charge, an organization of leading economies said Thursday in its first ever obesity forecast.
Three out of four Americans will be overweight or obese by 2020, and disease rates and health care spending will balloon, unless governments, individuals and industry cooperate on a comprehensive strategy to combat the epidemic, the study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said.
The Paris-based organization, which brings together 33 of the world's leading economies, is better known for forecasting deficit and employment levels than for measuring waistlines. But the economic cost of excess weight — in health care, and in lives cut short and resources wasted — is a growing concern for many governments.
Franco Sassi, the OECD senior health economist who authored the report, blamed the usual suspects for the increase.
"Food is much cheaper than in the past, in particular food that is not particularly healthy, and people are changing their lifestyles, they have less time to prepare meals and are eating out more in restaurants," said Sassi, a former London School of Economics lecturer who worked on the report for three years.
That plus the fact that people are much less physically active than in the past means that the ranks of the overweight have swelled to nearly 70 percent in the U.S. this year from well under 50 percent in 1980, according to the OECD.
In 10 years, a full 75 percent of Americans will be overweight, making it "the fattest country in the OECD," the report said.
The same factors driving the epidemic in the U.S. are also at work in other wealthy and developing countries, Sassi said. "There is a frightening increase in the epidemic," Sassi said, "We've not reached the plateau yet."
The lifespan of an obese person is up to 8-10 years shorter than that of a normal-weight person, the OECD said, the same loss of lifespan incurred by smoking.
In the U.S. the cost in dollars of obesity, including higher health care spending and lost production, is already equivalent to 1 percent of the country's total gross domestic product, the report said. That compares to half a percent in other OECD countries, Sassi said.
These costs could rise two- or threefold over the coming years, the OECD said, citing another study that forecast obesity and overweight-related health care costs would rise 70 percent by 2015 and could be 2.4 times higher than the current level in 2025.
The OECD found that rates of obesity, defined as a body mass index above 30, show a wide variation across its member countries, ranging from as little as 3-4 percent of the population in Japan and Korea to around one-third in the U.S. and Mexico.
"However, rates are also increasing in these countries," the OECD said. Outside the OECD, obesity rates are rising at similarly fast rates in countries such as Brazil, China, India and Russia.
The OECD advises governments on economic growth, social development and financial stability.[/quote]
[url]http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100923/ap_on_he_me/eu_oecd_getting_fatter[/url]
Stop drinking pop and eating cheeseburgers, dumbasses.
Anyone who rates me dumb is fat and can't stop drinking pop and eating cheeseburgers.
[url=http://www.stop-smoking-stay-slim.com/obesity-statistics.html]"The [obesity] rate is especially high in the United Kingdom - the percentage of the population which is overweight has increased by 50% in the last 10 years."[/url]
I just wanted to throw that out there before everyone thinks obesity is only America's problem.
What, are you trying to say that when the focus of a culture moves away from menial labor to more office based work and exercise becomes less of a necessity due to increasingly pervasive technology and less healthy foods become cheaper and tastier, people get fat?
I'm an american, I may not be super fit but I'm anything but fat. Most of the people I know aren't really fat, much less obese. But that's just the people I know. Whenever I go to the grocery store, I always see one or two morbidly obese twats that seem to complain about everything.
[QUOTE=xxsetshotxx;25004255]I'm an american, I may not be super fit but I'm anything but fat. Most of the people I know aren't really fat, much less obese. But that's just the people I know. Whenever I go to the grocery store, I always see one or two morbidly obese twats that seem to complain about everything.[/QUOTE]
You're an American and you used "twat"? We must respect the boundaries between two different nations' derogatory terms.
[QUOTE=lil_n00blett;25004130][url=http://www.stop-smoking-stay-slim.com/obesity-statistics.html]"The [obesity] rate is especially high in the United Kingdom - the percentage of the population which is overweight has increased by 50% in the last 10 years."[/url]
I just wanted to throw that out there before everyone thinks obesity is only America's problem.[/QUOTE]
Scotland had a higher obesity rate than america at one point.
No surprise , whenever you drive up a road ( to dumfries for example ) you'll see the side littered with drive-thru bags and cups.
[QUOTE=GodKing;25004126]Stop drinking pop[/QUOTE]
No, really. That's good enough. For every pop you drink you could probably eat another cheeseburger and gain the same amount of weight.
Knowing that I will be part of an elite minority is very comforting to me.
Beat them to it :smug:
:smith:
[QUOTE=lil_n00blett;25004306]You're an American and you used "twat"? We must respect the boundaries between two different nations' derogatory terms.[/QUOTE]
?
I use twat all the time and I'm American. I've heard other people say it too.
I don't really care what the article says, it's simple not true.
[QUOTE=HolyCrusade;25004412]I don't really care what the article says, it's simple not true.[/QUOTE]
I have no doubt that it is. My friend joined the Airforce not long ago and while he was at tech school in Texas he sent back an entire photo album dedicated to all the fat people he saw. There was one chick that was so fat her left asscheek was nearly an entire foot lower than her right.
Looks like the badage Boys are back aga-wait
Then all the fat people will have heart attacks or get eaten by hyenas or something.
Then all the fat hyenas will die too.
[QUOTE=Instant Mix;25004327]Scotland had a higher obesity rate than america at one point.
No surprise , whenever you drive up a road ( to dumfries for example ) you'll see the side littered with drive-thru bags and cups.[/QUOTE]
Well Scotland has a population of 6 million while America has over 300 million.
I really really doubt this. You realize most of the USA would just be fat people? Give me a break. Let's see some statistics first.
[QUOTE=lil_n00blett;25004306]You're an American and you used "twat"? We must respect the boundaries between two different nations' derogatory terms.[/QUOTE]
but the british have all the best derogatory terms :saddowns:
[QUOTE=Thom12255;25004713]Well Scotland has a population of 6 million while America has over 300 million.[/QUOTE]
Well generally things scale.
Eat less if you are a fatass.
Eat more if you are a skinny bitch.
If you are happy being fat or probably been heavy all the time, you probably be just fine anyway.
As technology increases, so do our asses.
[QUOTE=lil_n00blett;25004306]You're an American and you used "twat"? We must respect the boundaries between two different nations' derogatory terms.[/QUOTE]
I hear twat used a lot over hear. I don't use it a lot myself, but I don't think it's exclusive to certain countries.
* surprise*
Twat just doesn't sound right when said by an American
Keep in mind that "overweight" includes being even slightly over your recommended weight, which more often than not isn't something that'd be considered fat.
The US (and all developed nations, really) should start focusing on making healthy food cheaper than unhealthy food. That would help tremendously considering the disproportionate amount of poor people who are also fat.
Lots of people are "Overweight" You could be like 270 pounds of muscle at 6"0 and you'd be over weight. If it was obesity instead of overweight, then it might be something worth worrying about.
[QUOTE=xxsetshotxx;25006026]I hear twat used a lot over hear. I don't use it a lot myself, but I don't think it's exclusive to certain countries.[/QUOTE]
Over "hear"? Really? [i][b]REALLY?[/b][/i]
[QUOTE=evilweazel;25006623]Lots of people are "Overweight" You could be like 270 pounds of muscle at 6"0 and you'd be over weight. If it was obesity instead of overweight, then it might be something worth worrying about.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, stats regarding only obesity (and not obtained through BMI) are a better tool for judging health.
Good.
Less fast zombies during a zombie outbreak.
I'm sure they only studies about 100 people, 75 out of 100 of them were fat.
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