Obesity is at an all-time high, and researchers are concerned about the findings they have revealed. As opposed to getting healthy and losing weight, Americans, in particular, continue to put on the pounds. This is leading to people suffering from health issues from diabetes to heart disease to cancer.

According to The Telegraph,

Of the world's 20 most populous countries, Egypt has the biggest weight problem. The US, where 33 per cent are considered to be obese, is actually 18th on the list, while the UK (26.9 per cent) is 43rd.

Even though the U.S. isn't top of the list in the world, that doesn't mean we shouldn't be concerned. Not only are adults overweight in America, but children are overweight as well. That should tell us something and urge us to take action so that obesity doesn't continue to rise.

U.S. adults continue to put on the pounds. New data show that nearly 40 percent of them were obese in 2015 and 2016, a sharp increase from a decade earlier, federal health officials reported Friday.

The prevalence of severe obesity in U.S. adults is also rising, heightening their risks of developing heart disease, diabetes and various cancers. According to the latest data, published Friday in JAMA, 7.7 percent of U.S. adults were severely obese in the same period.

Public health experts said that they were alarmed by the continuing rise in obesity among adults and by the fact that efforts to educate people about the health risks of a poor diet do not seem to be working.

In recent NAFTA negotiations, the Trump administration has proposed rules favored by major food companies that would limit the ability of the United States, Mexico and Canada to require prominent labels on packaged foods warning about the health risks of foods high in sugar and fat.

While the latest survey data do not explain why Americans continue to get heavier, nutritionists and other experts cite lifestyle, genetics and, most importantly, a poor diet as factors. U.S. fast-food sales rose 22.7 percent from 2012-2017, according to Euromonitor, while packaged-food sales rose 8.8 percent.

Scholars who study childhood obesity disagree about whether childhood obesity has plateaued or is increasing.

“We haven’t turned the tide. If anything, rates are continuing to climb upwards,” said Dr. David Ludwig, a nutrition professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The 18.5 percent youth obesity rate in 2015-2016 marked an uptick following earlier years dating to 2007 and 2008 when it had held steady at about 17 percent.

With obesity continuing to rise we must ask ourselves what we can do about it. Obviously educating people about unhealthy sugars and fats is one way to combat obesity, but also urging people to try a diet that works for them is another way.

The keto diet is an excellent way to lose weight by eating fewer carbs and instead increase the eating of healthy fats and proteins. If a person is struggling to lose weight this diet may be just what they need to jumpstart a new lifestyle and make positive life changes.

Miami Herald has more on these alarming statistics and why else Americans continue to gain and not lose weight.