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Overweight and Obesity: Prevalence, Consequences, and Causes of a Growing Public Health Problem

  • The Obesity Epidemic: Causes and Consequences (A Peeters and S Tanamas, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

This review considers a variety of perspectives on overweight and obesity (OW/obesity), including measurement and classification; prevalence and changes in prevalence in recent years; genetic, biological, medical, individual, and social correlates of OW/obesity; and treatment approaches. Despite increased attention, OW/obesity is escalating in prevalence worldwide, and the causes are exceedingly complex. A range of innovative studies, including basic research on gut microflora, dietary composition, pharmacologic interventions, and surgical procedures, is generating findings with potential for future prevention and treatment of OW/obesity. Social system changes such as school programs and the awareness of the roles of personal, family, health provider, and cultural experiences related to OW/obesity have also gained traction for vital prevention and treatment efforts over the past decade.

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Compliance with Ethics Guidelines

Conflict of Interest

Ellen P. Williams, Marie Mesidor, Karen Winters, Patricia M. Dubbert, and Sharon B. Wyatt declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2500 North State Street, Jackson, MS, 39216, USA

    Ellen P. Williams, Karen Winters & Sharon B. Wyatt

  2. Health Promotion & Disease Prevention Program, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, 4300 West 7th Street, Little Rock, AR, 72205, USA

    Marie Mesidor

  3. South Central Veterans Affairs Mental Illness Research, Education & Clinical Center, Little Rock Geriatric Research, Education & Clinical Center, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 2200 Fort Roots Drive, North Little Rock, AR, 72114, USA

    Patricia M. Dubbert

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  1. Ellen P. Williams
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  2. Marie Mesidor
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  3. Karen Winters
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  4. Patricia M. Dubbert
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  5. Sharon B. Wyatt
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sharon B. Wyatt.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on The Obesity Epidemic: Causes and Consequences

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Williams, E.P., Mesidor, M., Winters, K. et al. Overweight and Obesity: Prevalence, Consequences, and Causes of a Growing Public Health Problem. Curr Obes Rep 4, 363–370 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-015-0169-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-015-0169-4

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