Something to chew on

Eating more fruit but still eating too much fat? Exercising every week but still tipping the scales? A report by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) published in May 2002 reveals that excess weight in people over 50 can negate their efforts to live healthier lives. While smoking in adults over 50 has decreased 29 percent in the last decade, and while older Americans are seeking preventative health care services more than ever before, obesity among those over 50 doubled to 26.7 percent of the population from 1982 to 1999, according to the report.

The association based its findings on research from 20 years ago as well as new data. "The obesity problem threatens to outweigh the gains in the prevention of other diseases," says Susan Raetzman, associate director of AARP's Public Policy Institute. This news comes on the heels of a campaign launched by the World Health Organization to aggressively head off obesity-related problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. The organization estimates that more than 1 billion people worldwide carry unhealthy excess weight; 60 percent of US adults are overweight or obese. People are considered overweight if they weigh 10 percent more than their ideal body weight and obese if they weigh 20 percent more, according to the US Surgeon General's height-weight index, which can be found at www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/obesity/ calltoaction/factsheet04.pdf.