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The past 20 years have witnessed a dramatic growth in the number of people in the Western world who are overweight. This by-product of prosperity is so serious that it's become a major health issue. In England, 53% of adult women are overweight, while the figure for men is about 63%. Studies carried out in the 1980s showed much lower levels than this. And the problem gets worse the older people get. Whereas just over a quarter of the young are overweight, it afflicts an alarming 68% of women and three-quarters of men among those aged 55 to 64. The overall increase in the weight of the average person is partially the result of changes in lifestyle, and it has serious consequences for individuals and society. A person's weight increases when their food intake is greater than their energy output. The body stores the extra energy in the form of fat. Whereas many people today would prefer to be slim than to have a more rounded figure, until fairly recently in human history it was an advantage to have body fat.