A study conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has reported that nearly 90 percent of Americans will be overweight or obese by 2030. Such an outcome would have profound economic costs, the report said. “National survey data show that the prevalence of overweight and obese adults in the U.S. has increased steadily over the past three decades,” said Youfa Wang, MD, PhD, lead author of the study and associate professor with the Bloomberg School's Center for Human Nutrition. “If these trends continue, more than 86 percent of adults will be overweight or obese by 2030 with approximately 96 percent of non-Hispanic black women and 91 percent of Mexican-American men affected. This would result in 1 of every 6 health care dollars spent in total direct health care costs paying for overweight and obesity-related costs.” The study's authors warned that obesity has become an epidemic in the United States, with minorities among the most “affected.” Almost all African American women will be overweight or obese in 25 years, the study said.
