2012-05-08 12:48:54 Almost Half of Americans Could Be Obese by 2030
Transcript by Newsy: http://www.youtube.com/user/NewsyScience?feature=guide
BY EMILY ALLEN
Americans are packing on the pounds and new research shows this nation is only going to get heavier. Here is Fox News.
"A new Duke University study predicts a full 42 percent of all Americans will be obese by 2030 - almost half the country. 10 percent will be at least 100 pounds overweight."
People are considered obese when they're 30 pounds over a healthy weight and severely obese when they are 100 pounds overweight. The weight economist that led the study presented his findings at the CDC's "Weight of the Nation" meeting. USA Today quotes him.
"Things have gotten about as bad as they can get in the USA, in terms of an environment that promotes obesity. The country "is already saturated" with fast-food restaurants, cheap junk food and electronic technologies that render people sedentary at home and work."
One-third of American adults are already obese. The study said cutting obesity rates just 1 percent a year for the next twenty years could save a whopping $85 billion in health care costs.
And HLN points out if nothing is done, the cost of obesity will get even higher.
"The American Journal of Preventive Medicine says caring for obese adults will cost almost 550 billion dollars in medical expenses."
The lead scientist told CNN that these findings could actually be conservative estimates. It did not include obese children in its findings and says obese children will likely turn into obese adults.