OBESITY IS AN escalating epidemic of alarming proportions and one of the most severe health problems in the United States. Since 1980, when the number of overweight Americans hovered at about 25 percent, weights among Americans have soared. Now more...

Obesity has existed throughout human history. Archaeologists have even uncovered statues depicting extremely obese people dating from prehistoric times. One of the oldest such statues discovered is known as the Venus of Willendorf. Found in the...

We rarely repent of having eaten too little. —Thomas Jefferson Americans have long been consumed with losing weight, seemingly willing to suffer deprivation and to embrace each new diet that debuts—even if the "new diet"...

The politics of obesity demand that we revisit campaign contribution laws and advocate for a government agency—independent of industry—with clear responsibility for matters pertaining to food, nutrition, and health.—Marion Nestle,...

As a society, we can no longer afford to make poor health choices such as being physically inactive and eating an unhealthy diet; these choices have led to a tremendous obesity epidemic. As policy makers and health professionals, we must embrace small...

Obesity is an abnormal accumulation of body fat, usually 20 percent or more over an individual's ideal body weight. Obesity is associated with an increased risk of illness, disability, and death. Medical researchers have developed charts...

Obesity is defined as weight at least 20% above a person's "ideal": Twenty-40% over ideal weight is considered mildly obese, 40-100% over ideal weight is considered moderately obese, and more than 100% over ideal weight is severely (morbidly) obese....

Obesity Term describing a condition where the ratio of body fat to total body mass is higher than accepted norms. Obesity is a relative term used to describe the condition where the ratio of body fat, which is measurable, to total body mass is higher...

excessive accumulation of body fat, usually caused by the consumption of more calories than the body can use. The excess calories are then stored as fat, or adipose tissue. Overweight, if moderate, is not necessarily obesity, particularly in muscular...

State characterized by an excess of body fat. Clinical measures of obesity are achieved using methods including skinfold thickness, underwater weighing, total body potassium, bioelectrical impedance, computer imaging (for example COMPUTERIZED AXIAL...

This term derives from the Latin (obesus, meaning "to eat up"), and it came into use in English in the early 1600s to mean a condition characterized by excessive bodily fat. Excess body weight is associated with the increased storage of...

In the United States, more than 60 million adults are obese, meaning they are 20 per cent or more above the ideal weight for a person's height. Complications from obesity can include heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Obesity results from...

Excessive body fat. It is usually caused by sedentary habits and a diet high in fat, alcohol, or total calories. Calories consumed but not used are stored as fat. Rare causes include glandular defects and excess steroids (&see; Cushing syndrome)....

A clinical term used to describe a condition of excess weight of an individual due to the deposition of fatty tissue. The generally accepted medical definition of obesity is an excess of weight of at least 20 per cent over the normal weight for a...

Obesity is a condition in which the natural energy reserve, stored in the fatty tissue of humans and other mammals, is increased to a point where it is associated with certain health conditions or increased mortality. Although obesity is an individual...