Obesity

Obesity poses a major threat to health in the United States and throughout the world. Indeed, the growing global prevalence of obesity, coupled with its close relationship to life-shortening chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, highlights the importance of understanding, managing, and preventing this alarming public health challenge. In this chapter, we review the prevalence of obesity nationally and globally and highlight key contributors to its increased worldwide prevalence. We describe currently available treatments, ranging from self-help and commercial weight-loss programs to lifestyle interventions, pharmacotherapy, and bariatric surgery. We note the strengths and limitations of these approaches to intervention, and we summarize the latest guidelines for the treatment of obesity.