Boston (eCanadaNow) - A new study has detailed the obesity rates of people living in the U.S.

The study was conducted on 7,000 people who all took part in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) trial.  All 7,000 of those who took part in the study began it without heart disease.

They were all studied for their risk of developing heart disease, looking at weight, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, diabetes, and more.

Looking closely at the hard numbers ob obesity rates, they found that around 70% of white, African-American, and Hispanic people who took part in the study were overweight, with around 40% of them obese.

For African-American women, the obesity rate was 50%

The healthiest group in terms of weight was Chinese-Americans, as only 33% were considered overweight, with 5% obese.

Researchers found in the study that those who were obese were at higher risk for cardiac events due to heart disease risk factors.

The study was published in the May 12 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.