Obesity is common, serious and costly

·         More than one-third (34.9% or 78.6 million) of U.S. adults are obese. [Read  Journalabstract of American Medicine (JAMA) ]

·         Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of preventable death. [Read guidelines ]

The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was $147 billion in 2008 U.S. dollars; the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight. [Read summary ]

Source: Center of Disease Control and Prevention