Obesity and stones: Losing the waist is more than weight!

Obesity is a medical condition in which the accumulation of excess body fat may have a negative impact on an individual’s health that increases the risk of various diseases or potentially reduces life expectancy. Worldwide there are 1.5 billion overweight or obese adults, a number that is expected to reach three billion by 2,030. More than 34.9 % of adults (age ≥ 20 years) and 17 % of youths (age 2–19 years) and 8.1 % of infants and toddlers in the United States are obese. The prevalence of obesity in United States is high and has remained stable [1]. The health risk of obesity in United States has been associated with many diseases. Obesity-related conditions include, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, high cholesterol, hypertension, stroke and cancer. The costs associated with obesity in the United States are exponential. In 2008, the estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the United States was $147 billion. The average medical costs for people who are obese are $1,429 higher than those individuals of normal weight in 2006 [2].