Children are getting so fat that they may be the first generation to die before their parents, an expert says. Today's young people will be affected by potential   killers such as heart disease because of their weight. Fatty fast-food diets combined with the lifestyles with televisions and computers could mean kids will die young, says Professor Andrew Prentice, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. At the same time, the shape of the human body is going through a great change because adults are getting so fat. Here in Britain, the latest research shows that the average waist size for a man is 36~38 inches and may be 42~44 inches by 2032.This compares with only 32.6 inches in 1972. Women's waists have grown from an average of 22 inches in the 1920s to 24 inches in the 1950s and 30 inches now. One of the major reasons why children now are at greater risk is that we are getting fatter younger. In the UK alone, more than one million under 16 years old are thought to be overweight or fat--double the number in the 1980s. One in ten of four-year-olds are also medically said to be obese. The obesity which started in the US, has now spread to Europe, Australia, Central America and the Middle East. Many nations now record more than 20 percent of their population as obese and well over half of the population as overweight. Professor Prentice says the change in our shape has been caused by high-energy foods combined with a dramatic   drop in the energy we use as a result of technology developments. He is not alone in his concern. Only last week one medical magazine revealed how obesity was fuelling a rise in cancer cases. Obesity also increases the risk factor for heart disease and so on. An averagely obese person's lifespan   is shortened by around nine years while a seriously obese person by much more. Professor Prentice says, "So _ will _ parents _ live _ longer _ than _ their _ children, _ as _ an _ American _ obesity _ expert _ said _ recently?" "The answer is yes--and no." Yes, when most children become obese. No, because this is now becoming an alarmingly serious problem in the US. "Such children will have a greatly reduced quality of life on both body and mind." So say "No" to sandwiches and hamburgers. According to Professor Prentice, people become fatter because   _  .
the energy people take in is more than they need high technology makes people use less energy food contains too much energy people like to eat fast food