Excess body weight worldwide a pandemic

VILLEJUIF, France, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Excess body weight is a worldwide pandemic, with one-half to two-thirds of the overall study population being overweight or obese, a French researcher said.

Lead author Beverley Balkau, director of research at the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research in Villejuif, France, and colleagues analyzed data from 168,159 people -- 69,409 men, 98,750 women -- ages 18 to 80 in 63 countries across five continents, who were evaluated by their primary care physicians.

"This is the largest study to assess the frequency of adiposity -- body fat -- in the clinic, providing a snapshot of patients worldwide," Balkau said in a statement.

The study, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, found 40 percent of men and 30 percent of women were overweight, while 24 percent of men and 27 percent of women were obese.

Being overweight or obese has health consequences but abdominal obesity -- determined by doctors measuring waist size -- has even worse consequences, Balkau said.

The study found more than half the study population -- 56 percent of men and 71 percent of women -- had abdominal fat -- or waistlines measuring 37 inches or more in men and 31.5 inches or more in women.