NutritionDoc

The fastest growing segment of America's over weight population is also the fattest. A new study reports that the biggest growth area-in more ways than one- among people who are over weight is the group that is extremely obese, 100 or more pounds toooooo heavy. The report, to be published in the journal Public Health, says the population of Americans with a body mass index of 50 or more increased by 75% between 2000 and 2005.

 

The study shows that the proportion of people at the high end of the weight scale continues to increase at a brisk rate despite increased public attention on the risks of obesity and the increased use of drastic weight loss strategies such as surgery. The number of surgerys including stomach stapling and stomach bypass rose from 13,000 in 1998 to 200,000 last year.