Health
US Obesity Crisis Expected to Worsen by 2050, Study Warns
- Some 260 million Americans will be obese, overweight by 2050
- Weight-loss drugs seen as insufficient to hold off trend
About one in five children and at least one in three adolescents are expected to be living with obesity in 2050, according to the study.
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The US overweight and obese population will rise significantly in the next quarter century if current trends continue, and new weight-loss treatments won’t be sufficient to stem the tide, researchers said.
Nearly 260 million Americans will be overweight or obese by 2050, straining the health-care system and boosting medical costs, according to a study published Thursday in The Lancet medical journal. Rates among adult men will rise to 81% from 76% in 2021, and to 82% from 73% among women.