Obesity has become the silent killer of American society. It is a risk factor for many chronic diseases, including the four leading causes of death. Obesity can be linked to stroke, heart disease, cancer and diabetes, all serious health problems that can be fatal. Obesity is linked to 300,000 deaths per year in the industrialized world (Flamholz, 2001). Often in society and the medical community, there is a lack of understanding that obesity is actually a disease that requires special attention, otherwise rates of many diseases will continue to rise. Obesity has become almost epidemic in America. In the United States, more and more people are obese. The percentage of people who can be defined as obese, that is, those whose weight is 20% more than ideal, has jumped by 30% over the last ten years (Rosenbaum and Leibel, 1998). With this increase in obesity, America has seen an increase in all associated diseases. Adult-onset diabetes now affects younger and younger children, for example. Poor eating habits and lack of knowledge have contributed to creating these problems. Some of the other causes have to do with society itself. The structure of modern American society helps create these problems. As people work longer and longer hours, convenience foods are often purchased in place of healthy foods. People often spend most of their workday sedentary and never get a chance to exercise. The advertising people see advises them to eat high-calorie foods. Then the next ad tells them how to buy an easy solution to their obesity problems without having to do the difficult thing of changing their lifestyle. The link between cardiovascular disease and obesity is well established. This major cause of mortality in our society...... middle of paper ......(1997). Socioeconomic inequalities in morbidity and mortality in Western Europe. Lancet, 349, 1655-1659. Marmot, M.G., Bosma, H., Hemingway, H., Bruner, E., Stansfeld, S. (1997). Contribution of work control and other risk factors to social variations in the incidence of coronary heart disease. Lancet, 350, 235-239. Rosenbaum, M., Leibel, R. (1998). The physiology of body weight regulation: relevance to the etiology of childhood obesity. Pediatrics, 101, 525-539. Smith, G.D., Neaton, J.D., Wentworth, D., Stamler, R., Stamler, J. (1998). Mortality difference between black and white men in the United States: contribution of income and other risk factors among men screened for MRFIT. Lancet, 351, 934-939. Troiano, R.P., Flegal, K.M. (1998). Overweight children and adolescents: description, epidemiology and demographic data. Pediatrics, 101, 497-504.*References*