In addition, obese individuals have health care costs 39 percent above average.

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In fact, Kessler notes that 20% of healthy weight and 50% of obese individuals score high on behaviors like loss of control over eating, lack of feeling satisfied by eating food, and preoccupation with food.

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But the vigorous turn of the debate in recent months has added to the feeling that the overweight and obese are somehow lacking as individuals.

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However, more than half of those in the obese category were in class 1, and these individuals had no increased risk of dying compared to normal weight individuals.

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"It's quite obvious to me that there must be some individuals who are born with a more intense or less intense appetite than others and put in the right situation or the wrong situation - abundant access to food - those individuals born with greater appetite drive are much more likely to become obese, " says Professor O'Rahilly.

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In continuing studies of obese, sedentary but otherwise healthy middle-aged women, Dr. Ekkekakis found that some individuals reach their ventilatory threshold after just one minute at a slow pace on a treadmill.

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