Nearly a Third of Adults Rated Obese
By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer

Americans are even fatter than they think they are, with nearly a third of all adults — almost 59 million people — rated obese in a disturbing new government survey based on actual body measurements.

One in five Americans, or 19.8 percent, had considered themselves obese in a 2000 survey based on people's own assessments of their girth.

The new 1999-2000 survey puts the real number at 31 percent — a doubling over the past two decades. The new number is considered more reliable since people consistently underestimate their weight.

"The problem keeps getting worse," said Health and Human Services secretary Tommy Thompson. "This has profound health implications."

In addition, a measurement-based survey of young people found that 15 percent of youngsters ages 6 to 19 were seriously overweight. That is nearly 9 million youths and triple the number in a similar assessment from 1980.

"One of the most significant concerns from a public health perspective is that we know a lot of children who are overweight grow up to be overweight or obese adults, and thus at greater risk for some major health problems such as heart disease and diabetes," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The findings appear in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association