Obesity in America: It’s Getting Worse - Jennifer B. Marks, MD,
FACP, FACE, CDE, Editor Nearly two-thirds of adult Americans are
overweight or obese. Despite the attention of the health
profession, the media, and the public, and mass educational
campaigns about the benefits of healthier diets and increased
physical activity, the prevalence of obesity in the United
States has more than doubled over the past four decades.1 Add
the relatively few Americans who practice the habit of regular
physical activity to the many who practice the habit of “super-
sizing,” and it is no revelation why this has occurred. We have
inherited our genetic makeup from our ancestors, hunters and
gatherers who ate diets rich in low-fat meats and grains, who
had to stalk and capture the entrée for dinner. During times of
feast, their bodies were designed to store nutrients as adipose
tissue to be used for fuel to survive periods of famine. We are
descended from these survivors, and we share this ability to
store fat when food is in ove