Obesity is a complex disease with multiple causes that results in an unhealthy and inappropriate accumulation of stored fat in the body. Obesity substantially increases the risk for many associated diseases including high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea, heart disease, and cancer. It will soon overcome smoking as the number one cause of preventable death in the United States.

The epidemic of obesity threatens the health of millions of Americans. Over 100 million Americans are overweight (two-thirds of the population), 60 million people are obese (nearly 33 percent), and 11 million people are severely or morbidly obese and the numbers continue to rise. Healthcare costs in the United States for obesity-related diseases are approaching $100 billion dollars annually, approximately 5.5 percent of the total annual health care costs.

Thirty percent of U.S. adolescents are overweight and 15 percent are obese. Childhood obesity has doubled in the last several decades, and we know that 75 percent of obese children will become obese adults. Click here to view updated statistics on overweight and obesity in the U.S. on American Obesity Association. Click Here to read more about this topic...

Added on 01/19/2010

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