STUDY: 75% Of Americans Will Be Fat In 7 Years

More than three quarters of American adults will be overweight by 2015, a survey has found. A further 41 percent will be obese if people continue to gain weight at the current rate, according to the study by Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Youfa Yang, who led the study said: “Obesity is a public health crisis. If the rate of obesity and overweight continues at this pace, by 2015, 75 percent of adults and nearly 24 percent of U.S. children and adolescents will be overweight or obese.”

The United States is the most overweight country in the world and the soaring levels of obesity have been attributed to a poor diet of junk food and fizzy drinks as well as lack of exercise. In Britain, the figures are considerably lower, but health experts are warning that the country is now on the brink of an obesity epidemic.

Around a quarter of British adults are obese while the proportion of obese children rose by more than 40 percent between 1995 and 2004.Last week a study suggested that a so-called fat tax could save more than 3,000 lives a year. The researchers showed that obesity levels would fall if people were forced to pay more for fattier foods.