By Julie Robotham, Medical Writer January 2 2003

The epidemic of weight gain in the United States has run even further out of control in just one year, with a 5 per cent increase in the number of people deemed obese.

Weight increases of the same magnitude may also be occurring in Australia, which has mirrored US obesity trends for two decades, experts have warned.

In 2001, 20.9 per cent of Americans were obese, up from 19.8 per cent in 2000. And there was an 8 per cent rise in diagnosed cases of diabetes - linked to being overweight and poor lifestyle. By 2001 the disease affected 7.9 per cent of Americans.

Obesity is defined according to a formula based on weight and height; 78 kilograms and above is obese in someone 160 centimetres tall while a person of 190 centimetres is obese at 109 kilograms or more.

The 2001 figures, from a poll of 200,000 adults from every US state, show the obesity trend is accelerating despite more widespread acknowledgement of the problem. During the past decade, America's obesity rate increased by 74 per cent while the proportion of people deemed overweight, but not obese, increased from 45 to 58 per cent.

The study was published yesterday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Research leader Ali Mokdad from the National Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion said: "Increases in obesity and diabetes among US adults are continuing in both sexes, all ages, all races, all educational levels, and all smoking levels."

The true rates could be even worse, he said, because the phone poll excluded the poor who did not have a telephone. Poverty is linked to excessive weight.

-- Anonymous, January 02, 2003

Answers

Response to Oz: Americans getting fatter, but we may soon be their biggest rivals

Tim Welborn, who compiled Australia's most recent obesity statistics, said the US results were cause for "astonishment and concern". They were very similar to the findings of 2000's AusDiab study, which found 60 per cent of over 25s weighed more than was healthy, including 20.5 per cent who were obese. Diabetes affected 7.6 per cent of the population.

It was easily possible that Australians were still gaining weight as fast as Americans, said Professor Welborn, an endocrinologist at Perth's Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. But he said that this would not be known for sure until a follow-up AusDiab study is conducted in 2005.

"What's remarkable to me is very little money is being put aside for this," he said. "We're dealing with an epidemic that in terms of loss of life and limb is much greater than any hypothetical terrorist attack."

Professor Welborn said carrying a disproportionate amount of weight around the stomach was potentially more dangerous than having a high total weight. Trends over 20 years showed inactivity was the biggest contributor to obesity. Being active, even around the home or office, could keep weight off, he said.

-- Anonymous, January 02, 2003

I'm very surprised that Australians and Brits (in previous reports) are getting fat too. Even now, Brits and Aussies are quite a bit more active than Americans and PE is much more common (and for longer periods) in schools. In addition, Americans are far more likely to eat frozen dinners (many so high in calories), fried chicken, burgers and other such fat-laden delicacies.

-- Anonymous, January 02, 2003