Throughout the world obesity has become an epidemic. Obesity is a health issue that causes at least 2.8 million deaths world wide each year due to overweight and obesity. Obesity was once associated with high income countries, but now many low and middle income countries are now battling the epidemic according to the World Health Organization .
The United States has been a high income and developed country for a significant period of time. The U.S. government has been collecting weight statistics nationally since the 1960s and state-by-state since the 1990s. The statistics data are made readily available to the public. These facts make the U.S. an excellent candidate to examine overtime.
Obesity in the United States has increased at an alarming rate. Currently, more than 2 in 3 adults are considered overweight or obese. Obesity can also lead to a myriad of health issues such as Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, cancer and other non-communicable diseases which cost the US $147 billion in 2008. Obesity affects people of all ages and demographics. It is “associated with poorer mental health outcomes, reduced quality of life, and the leading causes of death in the U.S.” [2]