What if animals were obese? - PHOTOS

The United States is facing the fact that by 2030 almost 50 percent of its population will be massively overweight, as people stuff their faces with junk food and never take the time to exercise.

However, obesity is not a problem faced by the animal kingdom, as each gorilla, squirrel, tiger and elephant battles daily with mother nature's law of survival of the fittest.

Supposing though for a second that animals were as obese as humans, these humourous pictures of fat and chubby creatures imagine a world where obesity is not just confined to over indulgent human's but included the animal kingdom too.

And if animals were to become as obese as humans then they too would discover the same health problems that we experience.

Being overweight increases anyone's risk of diabetes, heart disease and a host of other ailments, the severely obese are most at risk — and the most expensive to treat.


Already, conservative estimates suggest obesity-related problems account for at least 9 percent of the nation's yearly health spending, or $150 billion a year. People ages 45 to 64 are most likely to be obese, said Duke University health economist Eric Finkelstein.

Today, more than 78 million U.S. adults are obese, defined as having a body-mass index of 30 or more. BMI is a measure of weight for height. Someone who's 5-feet-5 would be termed obese at 180 pounds, and severely obese with a BMI of 40 — 240 pounds.

The new forecast suggests 32 million more people could be obese in 2030 — adding $550 billion in health spending over that time span, said Finkelstein.

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