Originally published October 7 2005
Health experts warn about becoming overweight in old age
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute paid for a study that unfolded over 30 years, the results of which indicate that nine out of 10 men and seven out of 10 women become overweight at some point in their lives.
The older they get, the more likely Americans are to put on the extra pounds that take them out of the healthy weight class and make them overweight or obese, the researchers said.
"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 Dr. Elizabeth Nabel, director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, which paid for the study.
"In addition, these results may underestimate the risk for some ethnic groups."
Black and Hispanic Americans are more prone to be overweight or obese than whites.
The report, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that over 30 years, nine out of 10 men and seven out of 10 women taking part in a Massachussetts-based study became or stayed overweight.
More than a third were obese or became obese.
For the study, Vasan and colleagues studied 4,000 white adults taking part in the ongoing Framingham Heart Study, a giant, long-term study of people living in Framingham, Massachusetts.
Among other things the researchers measured each volunteer's body mass index or BMI -- a standard measure of weight relative to height, which is an indicator of total body fat.
A BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, and obesity begins with a BMI of 30 or higher.
Being "overweight and (suffering from) obesity increase the risk of poor health.
We hope these results will serve as a wake-up call to Americans of all ages," Nabel said.
"Even those who are now at a healthy weight need to be careful about maintaining energy balance to avoid gaining weight.
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