Evolution, not just gluttony, led to obesity pandemic

SYDNEY, Sep 4 (Reuters) Evolution and the environment, not just gluttony, has led to a global obesity pandemic, with an estimated 1.5 billion people overweight -- more than the number of undernourished people -- an obesity conference was told today.

The mounting epidemic of obesity in children would see many die before their parents, said Kate Steinbeck, co-chair of the 10th International Congress on Obesity in Sydney.

''This is the first generation in history where children may die before their parents,'' Steinbeck told the conference.

Health experts at the week-long congress starting today said calls for the past 30 years for people to eat less fatty foods and exercise more had failed to combat global obesity.

Obesity had become an ''insidious killer and the major contributing cause of preventable diseases such as diabetes and heart disease,'' said conference co-chair Paul Zimmet.

''It is a disease with disastrous health, social and economic consequences,'' Zimmet told the conference.

Steinbeck said fighting obesity was not simply a matter of people eating less and exercising more, but discovering environmental and genetic contributors to obesity.

''We know this is not about gluttony -- it is the interaction of heredity and environment,'' said Steinbeck.

New obesity research has found that too little sleep and fats from fast food can alter a person's biology, making them more susceptible to overeating and less active, said the International Association for the Study of Obesity.

''Research into obesity should be given top priority to have any hope of combating the global pandemic,'' said Arne Vernon, president of the association.

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