Obesity and Overweight

Overweight and obesity are defined as an excess accumulation of body fat. Development of obesity was at one time thought to be simply a product of caloric intake that exceeded energy expenditure. However, it is now known that other factors, including genetics, metabolism, behavior, environment, culture, and socioeconomic status contribute to the development of obesity.1-3 Obesity is associated with mortality and comorbidities, including type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), coronary heart disease, dyslipidemia, cardiometabolic syndrome, hypertension, stroke, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, gall bladder disease, and some cancers.3

In the United States, 35.7% of adults are obese.4 Among children and adolescents aged 2–19 years, 1 in 3 is overweight or obese and 1...