Rising temperatures and increased dehydration linked to global warming will boost kidney stone rates in the United States and around the world, new research suggests.

In the United States in particular, hotter weather will lead to a dramatic rise in kidney stone disease among residents of southern states -- the so-called "kidney-stone belt." This will result in an increase of 1.6 million to 2.2 million additional kidney stone cases by 2050, according to the study.

That pesky obesity thing. First it forced Disneyland to increase the sizes of its theme-park costumes, and hospitals to buy larger hoists and beds. Now, in a letter published Friday in the medical journal Lancet, two scientists write that obese people are disproportionately responsible for high food prices and greenhouse gas emissions because they consume 18% more food energy due to their greater body mass -- and require increased quantities of fuel to transport themselves and the food they eat.

By Alan Mozes
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, April 24 (HealthDay News) -- While most public health department officials in the United States take the health threat of global warming seriously, the majority say they aren't prepared to confront the problem, a new survey shows.