Half of adults in the United States will be obese by the year 2030, according a new Columbia University study.
    
Researchers found 164 million American adults in their 40s and 50s will be obese by that time unless the trend changes.

Such an obesity boom could lead to millions of diabetes cases, heart disease, strokes, and cancer.  

"Our projections find that rising obesity is going to result in increases in many of these chronic diseases which are disabling and expensive to treat," Columbia University researcher Claire Wang, PhD, said Thursday.

"We have to act fast," he urged.

The study's findings were published in the Aug. 27 issue of The Lancet as part of a series on the growing burden of global obesity.

*Originally aired on August 26, 2011.