Diet, Genetics, and Obesity

摘要

Obesity is a serious health concern in the U.S. and in other countries that pattern their diet after the U.S. model. Causes of obesity are multifactorial and include food choices, as well as genetic susceptibility and lifestyle aspects. Current age-adjusted prevalence of obesity rates for men and women are 31.3% and 34.7%, respectively (Kuczmarski et al., 1994). Basing their conclusion on prevalence data over the past 30 years, Foreyt and Goodrick (1995) estimated that the entire United States population will be obese by the year 2230. Obesity extracts significant societal and personal costs in the forms of increased risk for disease and death, health care costs associated with the increased frequency of comorbid medical and psychiatric conditions, and reduced social status, educational attainment, and employment opportunities (Enzi, 1994; Gortmaker et al., 1993; Hanson et al., 1995; Pi-Sunyer, 1993; Wolf and Colditz, 1994, 1996).