I´m very much interested in this topic so pardon me for allowing myself to be repetitive to the boring in this thread... I want to sum it up;
Approximately 2/3rds of the american adult population are considered owerweight. Approximately 30% are considered obese. And chi.l.d.hood obesety is increasing rapidly (which is the most scary part). Yes the americans have a major problem, the prognosis for the next 30 years show dramatic increase in obesetylevels in the US population. And, repeating myself in this thread (so sorry

), it´s more or less the same picture in the whole of the industrialized world. That doesn´t mean only EU compared to the US, both some european and asian countries have alike or above levels of obesety v.s. the US. Not because the tendency is stagnant in the US, it´s increasing fast everywhere. It´s a pandemic (global), not an epidemic (local). There are in fact more obese than undernourished people in the world. The notion that europeans are more healthy and lean than americans is bordering on being a myth.
So Bob and RM, your statistics is both right and wrong. The discussion is not on subpopulations, its concerning the population as a whole. Yes, you will find significant differencies according to genetic/racial heritage, but the overall tendency remains and is found in all subpopulations.
Why are we getting obese?
Our genes favoures storage of fat and had a survival value in more primitive societies. Genetic changes take eons so that factor will remain for numerous of future generations, the body wants fatty acids. The problem is the availability and quality of food in our societies. We can eat whenever, we dont have to go hunting. And the quality of the food is shite. We eat processed and energy-dense food that fucks it all up. A meal at Burgerking or McD equals (in the energy intake/output balance) 4-6 hours of fast walking. Thats the another important factor; we dont spend enough energy. Decreased physical activity is prevalent.
Whats the significance to us - we - in this privileged and exquisite little corner of the web? More fat pornstars!! I had a friend (really) who once was in possesion of a HVS tape entitled "Too Fat To Fuck". Scary shit. We must gather our resources and make sure that lean nice teens prevails in all AVI, WMV, MPG etc formats and keep posting the vids here. We actually have an important mission!!