New study reveals shocking obesity results among adults

Obesity has been a most common growing problem since the existence of individuals, but new results from a study have shocked medical experts after revealing that nearly 70% of the population in the U.S. is now obese.

According to health experts, the changes vary from person to person according to their Body Mass Index, BMI measurements.

A group of researchers collected BMI data from different adults to find out the percentage of obesity across the U.S.

A new obesity definition reveals that body fat location, not just body weight, could put nearly 7 in 10 U.S. adults at higher health risk.

The study included many individuals who face higher risks of diabetes and heart disease.

The findings suggest that fat storage may be just as important as overall weight, and people should monitor it as well to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

Health experts mentioned that "body composition matters—it's not just pounds on a scale."

According to researchers at Mass General Brigham, the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology Commission raises the estimated obesity rate from a study that examined data from more than 300,000 people and found that the increase was especially pronounced among older adults.

The findings published in JAMA Network Open from the study also showed that many individuals newly classified under the updated definition face higher risks of serious health problems.

"We already thought we had an obesity epidemic, but this is astounding," said co-first author Lindsay Fourman, MD, an endocrinologist in the Metabolism Unit in the Endocrinology Division of the Mass General Brigham Department of Medicine.

"With potentially 70 percent of the adult population now considered to have excess fat, we need to better understand what treatment approaches to prioritize."

Health experts consider this health condition alarming.

"Identifying excess body fat is very important, as we're finding that even people with a normal BMI but with abdominal fat accumulation are at increased health risk," Fourman said.