"... rates of “extreme” obesity, which was defined as having a BMI of 40 or more, increased by 350%"

http://news.yahoo.com/good-bad-news-obesity-f-fat-obesity-no-163000985.html

The Good and Bad News About Obesity: It’s No Longer Rising, But It’s More Dangerous Than Ever

Alexandra Sifferlin


"And while overall obesity rates appear to have stabilized, the “F as in Fat” report shows that rates of “extreme” obesity, which was defined as having a BMI of 40 or more, increased by 350%.

That may explain why another recent report revealed another disturbing pattern among the obese. Researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health found that obesity is to blame for 18% of deaths among black and white men and women between ages 40 and 85, which is higher than the 5% mortality that previously attributed to being heavy."