In 1995, an estimated 200 million people were obese. In just seven years, that number had risen to 300 million. There are several reasons for this increase in obesity. One reason is that, in the 1970s, the population was growing much slower than the food companies. Instead of slowing down, the food companies began to grow. In order to get rid of the extra food, they had to make people want to buy more food. They accomplished this goal by creating super-sized meals that were sold at low prices. Another reason for the increase in obesity rates is that the population is becoming overworked, causing people to eat fast food almost every night because there is not enough time to go home and have a healthy home cooked meal. Another major reason for the increase in obesity rates is the amount of junk food consumed by people every year. Each year in America people consume the following:

• 50 pounds of cookies and cakes

• 100 pounds of refined sugar

• 55 pounds of fats and oils

• 300 cans of soft drinks

• 200 sticks of chewing gum

• 20 gallons of ice cream

• 5 pounds of potato chips

• 18 pounds of candy

• 2 pounds of popcorn

These are just a few reasons why there has been an enormous increase in the world's average BMI and obesity rate.