World Getting More Obese, US #1

Obesity is not just a U.S. issue although Americans are still the fattest, a Gallup poll indicates. The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which tracks obesity in America, Britain and Germany monthly, found Americans are in far worse shape than are Britons and Germans. Twenty-five percent of Americans are obese, compared with 20% of Britons and slightly more than 10% of Germans, the index indicated. Worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1980 and being overweight or obese is the fifth-leading risk for global deaths, killing about 2.8 million adults each year with the obese more likely to suffer from chronic conditions, the World Health Organization has said. The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index survey, conducted March 7-Sept. 30 of 6,514 adults, has a margin of error of 1.62 percentage points.