A paper which will be presented at the Weight of the Nation Conference will also be published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. That paper, written by researches at Duke University and RTI International looked at the current rate of obesity in the United States, the estimated rates for the future and the rising medical costs that the epidemic is incurring. The paper presented a number of very troubling concepts but also found a few bright spots.

Researchers found that obesity has actually leveled off in some groups but continues to rise in others allowing them to adjust the estimated projections slightly downward. Originally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had the obesity rate hitting over fifty percent by the year 2030. The current estimate is now just over forty percent. The group that is seeing the biggest growth, however, are the so called "super" obese, people who are at least one hundred pounds over weight. That group is not only still rapidly growing because of their extreme weight costs far more than other obese people. The super obese will comprise more than ten percent of the total population by 2030 according to estimates, more than double the number for that group in 2010.

Another study which was previously published revealed that the current cost of obesity related health care is well over$190 billion dollars per year or one dollar for every five that is spent. The current paper shows that decreasing the current obesity level by a single percent for a year for the next two decades will lower the health care costs by over eighty billion dollars. If obesity is kept at its current level, estimated to be nearly eighty million adults, it will still save more than $500 billion in health care expenses and will prevent the more than thirty percent rise in levels.

Researchers did not include children and teens in the current paper, however numbers for childhood obesity are still less than stellar. More than twelve million children and teens are considered overweight or obese currently and the numbers for certain ethnic groups are still rising.

Obesity, itself considered to be a disease is a risk factor for a number of serious health conditions including heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. But, physical illness is not the only problem it causes. Obesity also increases the risk of depression and other mental health issues. Obesity is also becoming a workplace issue in many areas of the nation with some employers refusing to hire anyone with a BMI above 35.