The obesity epidemic

Introduction In June 2004, Time Magazine published a special issue titled, “America’s Obesity Crisis.” Exactly 1 year later, Scientific American, in their June 2005 issue, published an article titled, “Obesity: An Overblown Epidemic.” Was the “obesity crisis” resolved within the intervening 12-month period between these publications? To better understand the dynamics of this issue, it is important to first reach consensus on defining the term obesity. Once defined, it is then possible to determine if obesity prevalence has increased over time and to establish the relationship between obesity and increased risk for various acute and chronic diseases.