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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The growing number of overweight or obese people isnt restricted to the United States; its a problem worldwide.
Data collected from a new global study reveals 40 percent of men and 30 percent of women are overweight. When it comes to obesity, 24 percent of men and 27 percent of women fall into the classification.
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Researchers involved in the study collected data from 168,159 people ages 18 to 80. Participants were studied in 63 countries and on five continents. This is the largest study to assess the frequency of adiposity (body fat) in the clinic, providing a snapshot of patients worldwide, lead author Beverly Balkau, Ph.D., director of research at INSERM in Villejuif, France, was quoted as saying.
Physicians worldwide recorded participants age, gender, and whether there was a diagnosis of heart disease or diabetes. They also measured waist circumference, overall weight, height and body mass index.
Overall, theres a significant increase in the frequency of heart disease and diabetes with increasing waist circumference, Dr. Balkau reported. The frequency of heart disease was 16 percent for men and 13 percent for women, while diabetes was 13 percent for men and 11 percent for women.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Circulation, 2007;116:1942-1951
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