Obesity continued to increase dramatically during the late 1990's for Americans of all ages, with nearly one-third of all adults now classified as obese, according to new data from the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Meanwhile, the percent of children who are overweight also continues to increase. Among children and teens ages 6-19, 15 percent (almost 9 million) are overweight according to the 1999-2000 data, or triple what the proportion was in 1980.

"The problem keeps getting worse," said HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. "We've seen virtually a doubling in the number of obese persons over the past two decades and this has profound health implications. Obesity increases a person's risk for a number of serious conditions, including Type II diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, hypertension, elevated cholesterol, gallbladder disease, orthopedic problems and some types of cancer."

The findings show more adult women are obese (33 percent) than men (28 percent), with the problem greatest among non-Hispanic black women (50 percent) compared with Mexican-American women (40 percent) and non-Hispanic white women (30 percent). There was practically no difference in obesity levels among men based on race/ethnicity.

In addition, over 10 percent of younger preschool children between ages 2 and 5 are overweight, up from 7 percent in 1994.

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