The latest data from the Center of Health Statistics show that 30% of U.S. adults over 21 are obese. The percentage of young people who are overweight has more than tripled since 1980. And among children and teens, 16% are considered overweight. Obesity is not just a cosmetic problem. It causes impaired mobility, decreased heat tolerance, excessive sweating and skin folds leading to skin lesions and infections. It is also associated with more serious debilitating and deadly conditions. Among these are hypertension, high lipid levels, cardiovascular illness including heart attack and stroke, type 2 diabetes leading to blindness, kidney failure, and limb amputations, gall bladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea and respiratory problems, as well as some cancers, including breast, colon and endometrial cancer. In short, it is a major health problem with a real effect on life-expectancy. While the pharmaceutical pipeline in this area is still small, new research is propelling better potential treatments to the market.
