For the first time in recent times, most Americans are using prescription drugs. Pharmacy benefits manager Medco Health Solutions Inc. said that in 2007 51 percent of those insured took prescription medicines for chronic health ailments. Furthermore, around 20 percent of the U.S. population used three or more prescription drugs. The largest increase was seen in the 20- to 44-year-old age group. In this age group an increase of 20 percent was recorded.

Doctors estimate that given the current trend the number of those taking prescription medication will only increase. The 2007 numbers are up from 50 percent in 2006 and 47 percent in 2001. Dr. Robert Epstein, chief medical officer at Medco, underlined that a lot of the prescription drug use is related with the disastrous rate of obesity in the United States.

"Honestly, a lot of it is related to obesity," he said. "We've become a couch potato culture (and) it's a lot easier to pop a pill," he told AP.

The numbers will skyrocket in the next decades, as the ever-increasing weight of those who are now children will bring about near-certain problems in adult life. Health care spending in the United States is estimated to rise to 25 percent of the economy by 2025, from 16 percent now.

"These chronic conditions are incredibly costly for the nation and will become exponentially so if we're seeing these problems show up at a younger and younger age," Dr. Robert Epstein in a statement.