A study is predicting that more than half of US adults will become obese within 10 years if the country does not collectively adopt healthier eating habits.
The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, predicts that within 10 years, over 50% of US adults will be obese and one in four American adults will be "severely obese" with a body mass index (BMI) of over 35, which means they will be over 100 pounds overweight.
The researchers analyzed 26 years of self-reported BMI data from over six million American adults. They found that 29 states, mostly in the South and Midwest, will be affected the most, with over 50% of their residents considered obese.
Aviva Must, chair of Tufts University's Public Health and Community Medicine, said: "Given how notoriously difficult obesity is to treat once it's established, you can see that we're in an untenable situation."
"The societal cost is high, both in terms of obesity-related health consequences and healthcare expenditures which could bring us to our knees," she added.
The study found that in all 50 states, at least 35% of the population will become obese. Lead author Zachary Ward, an analyst at Harvard Chan School's Center for Health Decision Science said: "What's even more concerning is the rise in severe obesity."
"Nationally, severe obesity -- typically over 100 pounds of excess weight -- will become the most common BMI category. Prevalence will be higher than 25% in 25 states," Ward pointed out.
Must argued: "Fifty years ago, obesity was a relatively rare condition. People who were poor were underweight, not overweight. But that has changed." Several factors were attributed, including the emergence of sugar-sweetened beverages and ultra-processed foods, which contribute calories but little nutrition and the fall in the price of food, including unhealthy fast food products.
Ward explained: "It's really hard to lose weight. It's really hard to treat obesity. So prevention really has to be at the forefront of efforts to combat this growing epidemic."
