Most Americans Gain Weight As They Age
Posted on: Tuesday, 4 October 2005, 18:00 CDT
By Lee Bowman SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE
A 30-year study finds most adults -- 9 out of 10 men, 7 out of 10 women -- are likely to be or become overweight as they grow older.
The report, published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine, was based on the experience of more than 4,000 white adults who were the second generation of a long-term study of heart disease sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
Participants were the offspring of the original Framingham Heart Study subjects, and were 30 to 59 years old when the next- generation study began. They were followed from 1971 to 2001.
"National surveys and other studies have told us that the United States has a major weight problem, but this study suggests that we could have an even more serious degree of overweight and obesity over the next few decades," said Elizabeth Nabel, director of the institute.
"These results may underestimate the risks for some ethnic groups," she added, noting other studies have shown Hispanic and black individuals, especially women, have a greater prevalence of excess weight than their white counterparts.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 65 percent of Americans 20 and older are either overweight or obese, and approximately 30 percent are obese, based on a 1999-2002 national health survey.
In the new study, more than 1 out of 3 of the subjects either were or became obese in the course of the study.
And making it to middle age without extra pounds was no guarantee you'll stay at a healthy weight, even short-term. About 1 in 5 women and 1 in 4 men who were at a healthy BMI during one exam became overweight by the time of the next followup four years later.
"Our results, while not surprising, are worrisome," said Ramachandran Vasan, an associate professor at Boston University School of Medicine and lead author of the study. "If this trend continues, our country will continue to face substantial health problems related to excess weight."
Source: Albuquerque Journal
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