Abstract

Obesity is one of the most common health problems facing children and society today. Since 1960, the obesity rate among adults has risen to 34% in the United States, and morbid obesity is up six-fold. In 1980, only 14% of adult Americans were obese, but this figure had skyrocketed to 31% by 2000. Two out of three Americans today are overweight or obese, and one in 20 suffers from extreme obesity. In 2012, Reuters reported that obesity in America added $190 billion to annual national health-care costs, passing smoking for the first time.Following closely on the heels of this epidemic is an explosion in the number of cases of diabetes, particularly...