TWO-THIRDS OF U.S. ADULTS ARE NOW CONSIDERED OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE
ADULT OBESITY RATES RISE IN 37 STATES

In spite of media coverage and doctors’ advice, millions of Americans are still overweight. Why can’t state and federal policies control help?
by Catherine Arnst
Despite the many public efforts to promote physical activity and good nutrition in recent years, despite the constant warnings about the obesity crisis, Americans just keep getting fatter. According to an annual state-by-state look at the problem, adult obesity rates increased in 37 states in the past year…

By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Obese Americans — those who are 30 or more pounds over a healthy weight — cost the country an estimated $147 billion in weight-related medical bills in 2008, double what it was a decade ago, a new study shows.
Overall, an obese patient has $4,871 in medical bills a year compared with $3,442 for a patient at a healthy weight.
The findings are from a statistical analysis released here Monday at a government meeting convened to discuss ways to reduce obesity and inactivity by changing the environment.

Mon May 4, 2009 1:48pm EDT
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Obese children and adolescents are 26 percent more likely to have some kind of allergy, especially to food, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
They said it is not clear from the study if obesity causes allergies, but it suggests controlling obesity in young people may be important for lowering rates of childhood allergies and asthma.
“We found a positive association between obesity and allergies,” said Dr. Darryl Zeldin, acting clinical director at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences or NIEHS, whose study appears in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
“The signal for allergies seemed to be coming mostly from food allergies. The rate of having a food allergy was 59 percent higher for obese children,” Dr. Stephanie London, a researcher at NIEHS, said in a statement…

HealthDay By Robert Preidt Friday, July 31, 2009
FRIDAY, July 31 (HealthDay News) — In the last 25 years, rates of severe childhood obesity in the United States have tripled, putting increasing numbers of children at risk for diabetes and heart disease, says a new study.