Although every day we read news reports linking health problems to diet and lifestyle, there remains a dearth of books on the topic that consider obesity from a variety of standpoints that include medical, personal, financial, and related considerations.The Obesity Realitydiscusses these viewpoints to explain how and why the problem exists both in the United States and around the world, and in men, women, children.More than a billion people are overweight and that number is expected to increase substantially over the next decade. How can we live past 90 while being obese? How can we remain healthy until our last breath? During the last decade, doctors have been successfully applying medical principles to the search for an obesity cure. But there is no magic medication, no vaccine that can head off the obesity epidemic as sweeps across the planet. Dr. Ali discusses the realities of obesity and its repercussions, which include poor health, high medical costs, restrictions on lifestyle and activities, and more. He shows how we can address obesity, starting in childhood, to prevent it from getting worse, both on a personal and on a societal level, and how we can reverse its effects through proper diet, exercise, and lifestyle choices as well as medical procedures and medications.

Naheed Ali, M.D., is the author ofDiabetes and You: A Comprehensive, Holistic Approach(Rowman& Littlefield, 2011). He has appeared as a special guest on numerous talk shows and has been quoted in many national print magazines and TV websites across the US, includingWomans World,Prevention,Whole Living, MSN.com, USAToday.com, and others.Find out more athttp://naheedali.com

DisclaimerProloguePart I:The Big Picture1: Understanding Obesity2: The Diagnosis3: Causes and Symptoms4: Treatment5: Obesity in America6: Worldwide ObesityPart II: The Front Lines7: Childhood Obesity8: Obesity and Mental Health9: Blame and Guilt10: The Economics of ObesityPart III: Keep it Up!11: The Art of Exercise12: Finding MotivationAppendix A: Obesity-Related WebsitesAppendix B: Research and TrainingAppendix C: Obesity-Related OrganizationsAppendix D: Selected StudiesNotesGlossaryResourcesSelected BibliographyIndexAbout the Author