"The prevalence of American adults who are 100 or more pounds over a healthy
weight has risen dramatically since 2000, a study released Monday shows.

About 3%% of people, or 6.8 million adults, were morbidly obese in 2005, up
from 2%% or 4.2 million people in 2000, says Roland Sturm, an economist with
the RAND Corp., a non-profit think tank.

The evidence of such a significant increase in the number of Americans who
are extremely heavy "is mind-boggling," he says.

Sturm analyzed government data on about 1.5 million people who reported
their own weights and heights. Participants were categorized as severely or
morbidly obese if they had a body mass index (a height-weight ratio) of 40
or higher.

According to government data, about 66%% of people in the USA are now either
overweight or obese, which is defined as 30 or more pounds over a healthy
weight. Obesity increases a person's risk of contracting numerous diseases,
including diabetes, heart diseases and cancer.

Sturm's study, which was released Monday on the website of the journal
Public Health, shows that 24.6%% of people were obese in 2005, up from 20
percent in 2000. That's an increase of 24%%."

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