An inevitable consequence of an advanced and rich economy is a fatter population, says a health economist and co-author of the new book The Fattening America.

Though obesity has established itself in western industrial societies, the author Eric Finkelstein gives example of India and China where, he says, waistlines are growing rapidly along with their economies.

“Combine that with cheap, prevalent food, and the result is bound to be weight gain. We’re seeing this now all over the world,” he emphasises in an interview with Newsweek. But he disagrees from economist perspective that people are making worse choices. 

He argues Americans spend more time on their “butts” at the computer, in front of television, in the car than their parents and grandparents did and spend much less time in the kitchen making healthy meals or burning calories outdoors. And everywhere, they are tempted by a growing array of cheap, high calorie, fat and sugar-laden treats. The result: two-thirds of American adults are qualified as overweight or obese.

But choices that Americans make are deliberate and with knowledge that being overweight puts them at risk, he said. The research suggests many people will still choose to be overweight.