Stanley Scheindlin

Obesity, body image and diet drugs: 100 years of change.

Caesar would find few to agree with his preference for fat men in twenty-first century America. Obesity has become a subject of great concern among the public and the medical profession, as it is said to have reached epidemic proportions in the United States. As a known risk factor for diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, gall bladder disease, and sleep apnea, obesity is indirectly responsible for a great deal of illness and mortality (1). And even more associations between obesity and adverse conditions are being reported. One recent study finds that an obese woman’s chance of becoming pregnant decreases as her Body Mass Index (BMI) increases (2). Another reports that overweight or obese adults are 50% more likely to have asthma than normal weight adults (3).