Obesity has been an increasingly common problem since the existence of individuals, but new study results have shocked medical experts after revealing that almost 70% of the population in the US is now obese.
According to health experts, the changes vary from person to person depending on their Body Mass Index and BMI measurements.
A group of researchers collected BMI data from several adults to find out the obesity rate in the US
A new definition of obesity shows that the location of body fat, not just body weight, could put nearly 7 in 10 American adults at higher health risk.
The study involved many people who are at higher risk for diabetes and heart disease.
The findings suggest that fat storage may be just as important as overall weight, and that people should also monitor this to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
Health experts said that “body composition matters – it’s not just about pounds on a scale.”
According to researchers at Mass General Brigham, the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology Commission is increasing the estimated obesity rate based on a study that examined data from more than 300,000 people and found that the increase was especially pronounced among older adults.
The findings published in JAMA network opened The study also found that many individuals newly classified under the updated definition are at greater risk of serious health problems.
“We already thought we had an obesity epidemic, but this is astonishing,” says co-first author Lindsay Fourman, MD, an endocrinologist in the Metabolism Unit of the Endocrinology Division of the Mass General Brigham Department of Medicine.
“Now that it is believed that potentially 70 percent of the adult population may have excess fat, we need to better understand which treatment approaches to prioritize.”
Health experts consider this health condition alarming.
“Identifying excess body fat is very important because we are finding that even people with a normal BMI but with abdominal fat accumulation are at increased health risk,” Fourman said.
