In 2030, an estimated 110 million Americans will be obese, an increase of 32 million over current figures. Indeed, some believe that the obesity epidemic could lead to the collapse of the American health care system.
Obesity costs the United States an estimated $200 billion (€163 billion) a year in hospital and doctor costs.
Evansville resident Shirley Smith, 47, weighs 350 pounds (159 kilograms). She says she has diabetes, high blood pressure, poor liver function, water in her shapeless, swollen legs, trouble sleeping and digestive problems. She's also worried about cardiovascular disease and missing her incisors because she says she can't afford to visit a dentist. But she has lost weight, she adds, 15 kilograms in a year, and she now eats lots of fruit and vegetables "and all that other stuff."