Last year, an analysis revealed that more than half of the world’s obese people congregate in 10 countries: United States, China, India, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Egypt, Germany, Pakistan, and Indonesia.

Obese Americans accounted for about 13 percent of the world’s obese people, while China and India together (with more than 700 percent of the US population) only accounted for 15 percent of the total. Now, US health officials report that obesity in America has inched up even more.

Right along with it, drug prescriptions for hypertension, diabetes, and depression and other obesity-related illnesses are also rising, with 59 percent of American adults now taking at least one drug.¹,²

As reported by The New York Times:³

“About 38 percent of American adults were obese in 2013 and 2014, up from 35 percent in 2011 and 2012… And compared with a decade ago, the increase was significant: In 2003 and 2004, about 32 percent of adults were obese…

A paper… published this month in Health Affairs, found that Americans’ diets had improved in quality from 1999 to 2012 — with a reduction in trans fats, small increases in fiber and less soda consumption — but that most of those advances were not happening among lower-income, less educated Americans.⁴“

Obese Children Show Signs of Heart Disease

Childhood obesity is perhaps an even greater concern, as obese children significantly increase their risk of suffering obesity-related illnesses and complications far earlier in life.

According to recent research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2015, obese children as young as 8 now display signs of heart disease! The researchers took MRI scans of the hearts of 20 obese children, and compared them to 20 normal-weight children.

As reported by Medical News Today:⁵

“The team found that the obese youths had 27 percent more muscle mass in the left ventricle of their hearts and 12 percent thicker heart muscles, which are both signs of heart disease.

The study also considered 40 percent of the children to be ‘high-risk’ because the type of thickening seen in their heart wall is associated with a reduced ability to pump blood.

Of the 20 obese children, seven were teenagers, but the younger participants yielded the most shocking results. The researchers were particularly surprised to see signs of heart disease in children as young as 8 years old…

[Lead author Linyuan] Jing hopes this study might spur parents on to spend a little more time and thought on their child’s diet.”