Obesity in the United States is projected to continue its rise over the next 18 years, extending to 42% of Americans by 2030, according to a study released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The world has changed in ways that allow people to be that overweight,” he said. However, if obesity stays at its current prevalence — 34 percent of adults — and does not increase, the savings in projected health-care costs will be considerable, about $550 billion, the authors said. The CDC forecast took into account a host of factors thought to influence Americans' eating and exercise habits, including the cost of groceries, the density of restaurants, rates of unemployment, Internet access and the price of gas. Most important, however, was the aging of the population, which tends to nudge many overweight adults into the obese category, and to push a growing number of those who are already obese into "severely obese" territory. "They're estimates, but like any estimates, are they going to be accurate?" People underestimate their weight when asked on the phone; that fact was compensated for in the mathematical model.
– The once-explosive growth in the proportion of Americans who are obese has slowed, but it's still expected to grow to 42% by 2030, according to the latest Centers for Disease Control study. The study found that if the obesity rate stays at the current level—34%—then some $550 billion in health care costs would be saved, reports the Washington Post. Earlier studies predicted that 51% of Americans would be obese by 2030, but no matter which is correct, "we still have a very serious problem," the head of the CDC's obesity program says. The obesity rate among women has stayed flat, but other groups, including higher-income men, are continuing to put on weight, and more obese people are becoming severely obese, according to the study, which predicts that the aging of the population will probably nudge many overweight adults into the obese category, and obese people into severely obese. The study's authors say it's not clear whether the growth in obesity has slowed somewhat because of the success of public policy initiatives, or because the US is nearing the maximum level of obesity that a population can sustain, notes the Los Angeles Times.