Three out of four Americans will be overweight or obese by 2020

BDx13 - 9-23-2010 at 01:53 PM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100923/ap_on_he_me/eu_oecd_gett...

PARIS – 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.

Colin - 9-23-2010 at 02:57 PM

luckily here in Colorado people do a lot of outdoor activities, I'm 5'11" 200 lbs & I'm more overweight than most people in their 20's around here, but you see people from the mid-west in their 20's & they're HUGE. like 75% of them.

lifeisabitch - 9-23-2010 at 03:09 PM

we're number 1 at something again

BDx13 - 9-23-2010 at 03:20 PM

America.
FUCK YEAH!

barc0debaby - 9-23-2010 at 03:45 PM

Eat up America, weaken the gene pool so my spawn can dominate the world.

ShawnRefuse - 9-23-2010 at 03:52 PM

3 out of 5 Refuse Resist members LOL.

CR83 - 9-23-2010 at 10:06 PM

These statistics do not surprise me. Scary scary shit

JawnDiablo - 9-23-2010 at 10:25 PM

fuck it
I am down 10 lbs
6 foot 2
210 lbs
36 years old
unemployed
fueled by Scrapple and Schaefer.
I challenge thee.
no takers?
thought so.....fags

barc0debaby - 9-23-2010 at 11:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by juandiablo
fuck it
I am down 10 lbs
6 foot 2
210 lbs
36 years old
unemployed
fueled by Scrapple and Schaefer.
I challenge thee.
no takers?
thought so.....fags

I'm on my way.

sentrand - 9-23-2010 at 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by barc0debaby

Quote:

Originally posted by juandiablo
fuck it
I am down 10 lbs
6 foot 2
210 lbs
36 years old
unemployed
fueled by Scrapple and Schaefer.
I challenge thee.
no takers?
thought so.....fags

I'm on my way.

right behind you, after i get a couple of whoppers in me.

XnMeX - 9-24-2010 at 07:09 AM

Most people I know are "Overweight" by the BMI definition of what is overweight.

At my heigh I would have to be 185 pounds to be in the not overweight catagory...

The smallest I had been was 198 and I looked sick. People kept telling me I needed to stop losing weight.

spyderdog - 9-24-2010 at 07:27 AM

god i hope i dont get divorced/break up or what ever with my chick

by 2010 my chances of having to someday bang a fat chick it sounds like will go WAY up

32 years and i havent had to yet. theres no fucking way im gonna start at 42

JawnDiablo - 9-24-2010 at 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by juandiablo
fuck it
I am down 10 lbs
6 foot 2
210 lbs
36 years old
unemployed
fueled by Scrapple and Schaefer.
I challenge thee.
no takers?
thought so.....fags

Jesus I was drunk last night.......
it appears that even my beloved thorp board was not spared.
I woke up to a whole bunch of crap thrown around my living room, cheese curl crumbs, and a headache.
Thursday night beer and crab night got the best of me again

JawnDiablo - 9-24-2010 at 08:07 AM

I am headed out for a scrapple egg and cheese sammich on an onion bagel with a heaping portion of home fries....time to up the ante

BDx13 - 9-24-2010 at 09:19 AM

^sounds like you need it. that kind of breakfast will cure any hangover.

JawnDiablo - 9-24-2010 at 11:22 AM

mission complete.....now I am ready to sleep again

wez138 - 9-24-2010 at 09:37 PM

Good!

Dan - 9-25-2010 at 11:42 AM

I stopped reading at "PARIS -".

barc0debaby - 9-25-2010 at 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dan
I stopped reading at "PARIS -".

Goddamn French

And I'm proud to be an American
where high cholesterol is free
And I won't forget my cardiologist
that snuck a burger in for me

BKT - 9-26-2010 at 11:22 PM

A healthy body and mind is a beautiful thing and no one should take it for granted. Take care of yourselves because there are a lot of people out there that do not have the luxury to do so and would give anything in the world to be able too.

BKT.

Six66Mike - 9-27-2010 at 05:39 AM

It's kinda related, funny, and 2/3 sexy.

jonnynewbreed - 9-27-2010 at 06:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by XnMeX
Most people I know are "Overweight" by the BMI definition of what is overweight.

At my heigh I would have to be 185 pounds to be in the not overweight catagory...

The smallest I had been was 198 and I looked sick. People kept telling me I needed to stop losing weight.

Exactly. I'm 6'4 and the BMI chart says that I should weigh 175 pounds. If that were true I would be skin and bones and am technically 50 pounds overweight. I weight 225 and could loose a few pounds for sure but 50 pounds wouldn't make me look very healthy.

sentrand - 9-28-2010 at 02:32 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jonnynewbreed

Quote:

i am 6'7" , Medical Recommendation says 169 - 222 lbs . i am 340 od so.This recommendation is based on a Body Mass Index (BMI) range of 19-25. i am slightly higher at 39.4

Peoples Choice Ideal Weight 277 lbs. This shows the average weight that other people of your Age, Height, Weight and Gender would describe as their ideal weight.

BDx13 - 9-28-2010 at 09:56 AM

i'm 6'4" as well and would LOVE to weigh 225, but 250 is my first goal.
down to 272 from 287 in the past couple months.
i think there'll be a big increase in motivation when i hit the 260s.
can't remember the last time i was in the 260s.