U.S. in 2015 - a nation of fatties!

According to researchers in the U.S. the way things are going by the year 2015 seventy five percent of the population will be overweight and 41 percent will be obese.

The researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore reached this conclusion after considering 20 published studies along with data from national surveys of weight and behaviour.

They say if people continue to gain weight at the current rate, by 2015 fat will be the norm.

The study leader Dr. Youfa Wang says obesity is a public health crisis and by 2015 almost 24 percent of U.S. children and adolescents will also be overweight or obese.

The researchers used the standard medical definition called body mass index (BMI) as a definition of adult overweight and obesity.

People with a BMI of 25 or above are considered overweight, while those with BMIs of 30 or above are obese and at serious risk of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.

Previous research has shown that 66 percent of U.S. adults were overweight or obese in 2003 and 2004 and that 80 percent of black women aged 40 or over are overweight and 50 percent are obese.

According to federal government estimates 16 percent of U.S. children and adolescents are overweight and 34 percent are at risk of becoming overweight and Dr. Wang says every group is steadily getting heavier.

The researchers say their analysis showed patterns of obesity or overweight for various groups of Americans and that obesity is likely to continue to increase.

Unless something is done, it will soon become the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.

The study is published in the journal "Epidemiologic Reviews".