By 2030 over 42% of Americans will be obese. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US predict that within 17 years 42% of Americans will be obese and 11% will be severely obese. Eric A. Finkelstein, PhD, and colleagues reported their findings May 7, 2012 at the CDC’s Weight of the Nation conference in Washington, D.C.  The study also appears in the May/June 2012 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Obesity in France doubles to seven million people. The number of obese people in France has doubled in the past 15 years to reach seven million. The average French person has put on more than half a stone since 1997. Over 15% of the French population is now obese. Over 32% of the French population is now overweight. The most significant weight gains are among the young French 18 to 24-year-olds, whose obesity levels have shot up by 35% in the past three years. A recent Ipsos-Logica Business Consulting study found that 25% of young French people “often consumed soda drinks at meal times”. According to Inserm, a French Public Health Research Centre, in 2009 five million French people had medical, psychological or social problems linked to alcohol abuse and at least two million were dependent. As reported by The Telegraph on October 16, 2012.

Hypertension, heart disease and diabetes all rising in adolescents and children. The 14-year study was published in the Annals of Neurology, a journal of the American Neurological Association and the Child Neurology Society, 2011. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that Ischemic stroke hospitalization rates among adolescents and young adults aged 15-44 went up 37% between 1995 and 2008. Researchers analyzed risk factors and comorbidities in patients admitted for stokes with discharge data made available from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. The study concluded that; 30% of patients aged 15-34 and over 50% aged 35-44 had hypertension; 25% of patients 35-44 had diabetes; and 25% of females 15-34, 30% of females 35-44 and 30% of males 15-44 were smokers. As reported by National Underwriter online news service on 1 September 2011.

Gut bacteria dramatically affects your weight. Study published September 2012 in PLOS ONE, a journal of the Public Library of Science.

Deliberate weight loss directly linked to reduced cancer incidence and mortality. Study published online on June 4, 2012 in Obesity Reviews.

Sleep time and routine affects body weight. Study published online May 1 2012 in the journal Sleep, from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

‘Oblivobesity’ is widespread with 80% unaware. Report issued by the CDC on July 23, used a representative sample of children and adolescents in the U.S. to compare actual weight with perceptions of weight. The principal finding was that more than 80% of overweight boys and 70% of overweight girls misperceived their weight as “normal.”

Cholesterol grows cancer genetically. Study published in the online journal Cell Reports, 2012. University of Rochester Medical Centre scientists have confirmed the cholesterol and cancer link with new genetic evidence. As reported by onlinenews.com on 16 September 2012.

Vegetarians have lower body fat levels than meat-eaters. Study by Nico S. Rizzo, PhD, Karen Jaceldo-Siegl, DrPH,  Joan Sabate, MD, DrPH and Gary E. Fraser, PhD “Nutrient Profiles of Vegetarian and Non-vegetarian Dietary Patterns” as published online in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics on August 28, 2013.

Vegetarians lose more weight and keep it off much longer than meat-eaters. The award winning study by Turner-McGrievy B, et al “How do plant-based achieve weight loss? Results of the New Dietary Interventions to Enhance the Treatment for Weight Loss (New DIETs) study” as presented on November 15 at a special session of The Obesity Society (TOS) Annual Meeting during Obesity Week, 2013; Abstract T-53-OR.

High dietary intake of saturated fat is associated with increased risk for estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer, progesterone-receptor-positive breast cancer and increased risk for HER2-negative breast cancer. Of the 7,860 women studied, those with the highest saturated fat intake had a significantly increased risk of all three breast cancer types. Study by Siera S, et al “Consuming a high-fat diet is associated with increased risk of certain types of breast cancer” as part of the European Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) research, as published online on April 9, 2014 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

People who eat the most animal protein are more likely to be diagnosed with type II diabetes. Study by researchers, as led by Monique van Nielen of Wageningen University in the Netherlands, compared 11,000 type II diabetics and 15,000 non-diabetics taking in exact data on diet, exercise and size measurements, covering eight European countries, and spanning 12 years. The paper was published in the April 14, 2014 online issue of the journal Diabetes Care.

Soft drinks cause obesity – three more studies. Study published online by the New England Journal of Medicine, 2012 covering more than 33,000 American men and women, showed that drinking sugary drinks was affecting genes that regulate weight and increased the genetic predisposition of a person to gain weight.

Children’s Hospital Boston, which examined 224 overweight adolescents who were encouraged to consume water for a year.  These teens gained only 0.68 kilograms of weight during this period compared to 1.5 kilograms in another group that consumed sugary drinks.

VU University Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and involved 641 children aged 4 to 11. “Taken together, these three studies suggest that calories from sugar-sweetened beverages do matter,” said Doctor Sonia Caprio of Yale University writing in the New England Journal of Medicine. Data from three previous studies: the Nurses’ Health Study, the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and the Women’s Genome Health Study was analysed.

Germany losing the obesity and health battle. A 2012 Government Report on what Germans eat and drink gives some sobering and bad news, with comments by Helmut Heseker, President of the German Society for Nutrition (DGE), as reported by Deutsche Welle on December 17, 2012.

Preventing the high death rate from cancer and heart disease. Researchers examined National Vital Statistics System data for 2008-2010 for deaths from heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, cerebrovascular disease, and unintentional injury. This accounted for 63% of all US deaths (before the age of 80) in 2010. The researchers examined the potential effect of bringing mortality rates from the five leading causes of death in the U.S., down to the current lowest recorded levels. Study by Yoon P, et al “Potentially preventable deaths from the five leading causes of death – United States, 2008-2010” as published by Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2014; 63: 369-374.  Four of the authors are WHO staff members.  As reported by MedPage Today on May 4, 2014.

Young people with arteriosclerosis is high. Study by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.  Dr. Eric Larose, an interventional cardiologist at the Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Quebec and an assistant professor at Laval University, said the numbers from the study are “staggering”.  For some young people, if a change in lifestyle is not made now, it could result in heart problems in early adulthood. As reported by Global News on October 26, 2011.

Teenagers now have heart disease markers. Study by Ashleigh L. May, MS, PhD, et al “Prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors among US adolescents, 1999 – 2008” as published in Pediatrics 2012;129(6):1035 on May 21, 2012.  This research is part of the “Heart & Stroke 2012 Statistical Update Nontraditional Risk Factors and Biomarkers for Cardiovascular Disease: Mechanistic, Research, and Clinical Considerations for Youth” review.

Teenagers with heart disease now widespread. Study presented at the Heart Failure Congress, May 19-22, 2012, in Belgrade, Serbia (the annual meeting of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology).

Overweight teenagers have heart damage already. Study presented at the Heart Failure Congress, May 19-22, 2012, in Belgrade, Serbia (the annual meeting of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology).  Lead author Professor Gani Bajraktari, professor of internal medicine and cardiology at the University of Pristina in Kosovo, and colleagues, found that obese adolescents – even with no symptoms of heart disease – had damaged hearts with thicker walls.  Their systolic and diastolic heart function was also impaired.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease rising in children. Study by Vos MB, Welsh J “Prevalence of suspected NAFLD is increasing among U.S. adolescents” as presented at the annual Digestive Disease Week 2012 (Abstract 705), in San Diego to the gathering of nearly 16,000 physicians, researchers and academics.  The researchers studied the information gleaned from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1988-2008 on 10,359 patients ages 12 to 18 and found that NAFLD in young people has risen so much it now affects 10% of children.

Big belly leads to fat around the heart. Study published online in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association and reported at the 2012 annual meeting of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE).

The average New Zealander has a very high bowel cancer and stomach cancer risk, due in part, to a diet low in vegetables. Study released jointly by the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research, was the result of five years of study by nine teams of scientists who reviewed 7,000 studies on diet, exercise, weight and cancer. The report draws on international studies checking the health and eating habits of hundreds of thousands of people. The studies include the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer, which has more than 500,000 participants.

Obese children have 50% higher risk of colon cancer. Study titled “Overweight in Adolescence is Related to Increased Risk of Future Urothelial Cancer” as published in the journal Obesity, 2012.

Severely obese kids have heart disease risk factors as early as age 2. Study published online July 23, 2012 in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Obesity linked again to liver cancer and gallbladder cancer. Study by Sabrina Schlesinger at Section of Epidemiology, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel in Kiel, Germany and colleagues as published in the International Journal of Cancer, 2012.

A study confirmed that there are now nearly one in nine adults, or 500,000,000 people, clinically obese, and more than one in ten of the world’s adult population is now overweight. The study was published in The Lancet, 17 May 2013 and reported by Deutsche Welle, 18 May 2013.

Study by Sarah C. Walpole, David Prieto-Merino, Phil Edwards, John Cleland, Gretchen Stevens and Ian Roberts, ‘The weight of nations: an estimation of adult human biomass’. BMC Public Health, 17 June 2012.

Study published in The Lancet, 24 May 1997, 349 (9064):1498–504, by C.J. Murray and A.D. Lopez, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Study from the near-decade long ‘Early Childhood Longitudinal Study’ by researchers on nearly 6000 white, black and Hispanic children. Pediatrics, December 2011.

A. Green, A.K. Sjølie, O. Eschøj, and K. Cruickshank, ‘Epidemiology of diabetes mellitus’ in J.C. Pickup and G. Williams (eds), Textbook of Diabetes, 2nd edition, Oxford, Blackwell Science, 1997. New England Journal of Medicine, 2010.

Study released by the OECD, 21 February 2012. Also see, N.A. Roper, R.W. Bilous, W.F. Kelly, N.C. Unwin, and V.M. Connolly, ‘Excess mortality in a population with diabetes and the impact of material deprivation: longitudinal population based study.’ British Medical Journal (BMJ), 2001, 322:1389–93.

Obesity now outnumbers hunger worldwide according to an annual World Disasters Report released by the International Federation of the Red Cross, 22 September 2011.

A quarter of New Zealand adults are now obese, one of the highest rates in the West and an increase of 150% since 1980. ‘Number of obese or overweight Kiwi children to hit 25%’. Reported by the Press, 25 September 2010, and The 2006/2007 New Zealand Health Survey.

South Auckland obesity rates reported on 24 April 2013 by the NZ Herald. Also see a study released by the New Zealand Ministry of Health, ‘A focus on nutrition, key findings of the 2008/2009 New Zealand adult nutrition survey’ by the University of Otago.

The 2006/2007 New Zealand Health Survey.

A 2010 Ministry of Health report, ‘Diabetes Policy Model’, reveals that 10% of the adult population will have type II diabetes by 2028 and nearly half a million people by 2036. Diabetes New Zealand National President, Chris Baty, said that number was conservative as cases were already higher than projections and increasing by 8% a year.

‘Comparative Health Performance in the Asia-Pacific Region: Findings and Implications of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010.’ Released by Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at their Australian conference in Melbourne, 2–3 May 2013.

‘Action Agenda 2013.’ A report from Obesity Australia that is a five-point Action Agenda taking in research from the International Obesity Summit in New Zealand, December 2012.

The survey by the Centre for Community Child Health at Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, and Adelaide researchers, as collected from 4983 preschoolers aged four and five in 2004, showed more than 15% were overweight and a further 5.5% now met the clinical definition of obese.

Ryan K. Masters, PhD, ‘The Impact of Obesity on US Mortality Levels: The Importance of Age and Cohort Factors in Population Estimates.’ Masters is a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society Scholar and Demographer at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City, and Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, USA. American Journal of Health, 5 April 2013.

Scottish children and obesity rates data from a study covering 52,139 children, ‘weighed and measured’ children of primary one age, reported by BBC News, 30 April 2013.

Irish childhood obesity rates from The Framework for Preventing and Addressing Overweight and Obesity in Northern Ireland 2012–2022: ‘A Fitter Future for All.’ Reported by The Independent, 15 April 2013.

E.L. Masso, S. Gonzalez, S. Johansson, MA, L.A. Garcia Rodriguez, ‘Trends in the prevalence and incidence of diabetes in the UK: 1996–2005’. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2009.

Study led by Dr Sonia Saxena of Imperial College London and researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina and the Imperial School of Public Health, with data from the National Health Service UK health statistics. PLoS ONE, 13 June 2013.

A study conducted by researchers from the University College London showed the number of children in the UK taking prescription weight loss drugs increased by 15 times between 1999 and 2006. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, reported by the Observer, 25 October 2009.

Middle East obesity and diabetes statistics released by Mohammed Al Kebsi, Consultant Interventional Cardiologist from the Yemeni Heart Association (YHA), at the first International Cardiology Symposium and Diabetes Forum — A Global Agenda (ICS-13), May 2013.

Study conducted among 230,000 adolescents by Israel Clalit Health Services reveals that 1 in 11 teenagers in Israel suffer from severe obesity. Also, according to 2011 Health Ministry surveys, about half of the country’s population is overweight.

Jason wishes to deeply thank, acknowledge and recognise the effort and contribution that the PIF Foundation has provided on a voluntary basis since 2014, as we educated, motivated and inspired change that helps transform the health, vitality and longevity of people all over the world.