Obesity Epidemic Continues Unabated

(HealthDayNews)

The tidal wave of youthful fat in the United States has not abated, and the rate for adults is no better, the latest U.S. government survey says.

"There are no surprises, only the regular surprise that the level of overweight continues to be alarmingly high," said Allison A. Hedley, an epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hedley is the lead author of a report on the survey, published in the June 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Another report in the journal points to fast food as a contributor to young people's weight problems.

The government report, from the ongoing National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, contains data on two groups of more than 4,000 adults and 4,000 children gathered in 1999-2000 and then in 2001-2002. It draws the usual distinction between being overweight, obese, and "extremely obese," which is defined as exceeding given readings of body mass index (BMI), a measure of weight to height.

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