Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States.
Sixty-four percent of the adult population is overweight or obese.
About 1 in 50 are now severely obese (BMI > 40 kg/m2).
Mokdad et al found that poor diet and physical inactivity was the second leading cause of death (400,000 per year in the USA), and would likely overtake tobacco as the leading cause of death.