The background and pro and con arguments were written by ProCon.org staff based upon input from the following footnotes (directly referenced) and sources (used for general research and not directly referenced):
Footnotes:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "Defining Overweight and Obesity," www.cdc.gov, last updated Dec. 8, 2009
Goodard Danai, et al., "The Preventable Causes of Death in the United States: Comparative Risk Assessment of Dietary, Lifestyle, and Metabolic Risk Factors," www.plosmedicine.org, Apr. 28, 2009
American Medical Association (AMA), "Report 4 of the Council on Scientific Affairs (A-05)," www.ama-assn.org, June 2005
Prospective Studies Collaboration, "Body-Mass Index and Cause-Specific Mortality in 900,000 Adults: Collaborative Analyses of 57 Prospective Studies," Lancet, Mar. 28, 2009
Jeffrey M. Friedman, MD, PhD, "The Real Cause of Obesity," Newsweek, Sep. 10, 2009
Albert J. Stunkard, MD, et al., "The Body-Mass Index of Twins Who Have Been Reared Apart," New England Journal of Medicine, May 4, 1990
Stanley Heshka, PhD, and David B. Allison, PhD, "Is Obesity a Disease?" International Journal of Obesity, Oct. 2001
George Bray, MD, "Drug Treatment of Obesity: Don't Throw the Baby Out with the Bath Water," American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Jan. 1998
David B. Allison, PhD, et al., "Obesity as a Disease: A White Paper on Evidence and Arguments Commissioned by the Council of the Obesity Society," www.obesityjournal.org, Apr. 2008
National Institutes of Health (NIH), "Understanding Adult Obesity," win.niddk.nih.gov, Nov. 2008
Ian R. Reid, MD, et al., "Determinants of Total Body and Regional Bone Mineral Density in Normal Postmenopausal Women--A Key Role for Fat Mass," Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, July 1992
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "U.S. Obesity Trends," www.cdc.gov, last updated Nov. 20, 2009
Jane Wardle, PhD, Susan Carnell, PhD, Claire M.A. Haworth, PhD, and Robert Plomin, PhD, "Evidence for a Strong Genetic Influence on Childhood Adiposity Despite the Force of the Obesogenic Environment," American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Feb. 2008
Nicholas A. Christakis, MD, PhD, and James H. Fowler, PhD, "The Spread of Obesity in a Large Social Network over 32 Years," New England Journal of Medicine, July 26, 2007
Adam Drewnowski, PhD, "Obesity and the Food Environment: Dietary Energy Density and Diet Costs," American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Oct. 2004
Lawrence D. Frank, PhD, Martin A. Andresen, MA, and Thomas L. Schmid, PhD, "Obesity Relationships with Community Design, Physical Activity, and Time Spent in Cars," American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Aug. 2004
Kelly Brownell, PhD, and Marion Nestle, PhD, "America's Obesity Crisis: Are You Responsible for Your Own Weight?," TIME magazine, June 7, 2004
National Health Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), "Prevalence of Overweight, Obesity and Extreme Obesity Among Adults: United States, Trends 1976-80 through 2005-2006," www.cdc.gov, Dec. 2008
World Health Organization (WHO), "World Health Statistics 2009," www.who.it, 2009
Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 26CFR1.213-1, www.irs.gov, 2002
National Health Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), "NCHS Data on Obesity," www.cdc.gov, updated May 2009
Eric A. Finkelstein, MD, Justin G. Trogdon, PhD, Joel W. Cohen, PhD, and William Dietz, MD, PhD, "Annual Medical Spending Attributable to Obesity: Payer-And Service-Specific Estimates," Health Affairs, July 27, 2009
National Consumers League, "New Obesity Survey: Many Americans Think They're 'Lighter' Than They Are, Most Not Being Told by a Doctor They Need to Lose Weight," www.nclnet.org, June 19, 2007
Gallup, "Public: Lifestyle, Not Disease, Causes Obesity," www.gallup.com, Aug. 10, 2004
H.R. 3962, "The Affordable Health Care for America Act," www.thomas.gov, Oct. 29, 2009
Food and Drug Administraiton (FDA), 21CFR101, www.fda.gov, revised Apr. 1, 2009
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), "Regulations on Statements Made for Dietary Supplements Concerning the Effect of the Product on the Structure or Function of the Body; Final Rule," www.fda.gov, Jan. 6, 1999
National Institutes of Health (NIH), "Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults," www.nih.gov, Sep. 1998
World Health Organization (WHO), "Obesity: Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic," www.who.int, 2000
American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), "Obesity: A Growing & Dangerous Public Health Challenge," www.gi.org, 2008
US Department of Health and Human Service (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), "CMS Manual System Pub. 100-03 Medicare National Coverage Determinations," www.cms.hhs.gov, Oct. 1, 2009
Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, "F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2011," www.healthyamericans.org, July 2011
Sources:
Megan McArdle, "America's Moral Panic Over Obesity," Atlantic, July 29, 2009
Agence France-Presse (AFP), "Obesity a 'Lifestyle Choice' for Americans," ABC News, Jan. 13, 2008
American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), "Obesity and Overweight," www.aafp.org (accessed Dec. 17, 2009)
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), "AAP Policy," www.aap.org (accessed Dec. 17, 2009)
American Nurses Association (ANA), "ANA Position Statements," nursingworld.org (accessed Dec. 17, 2009)
Nicholas Bakalar, "More Americans on the Road to Obesity," New York Times, Aug.10, 2009
BBC News, "Obesity 'Contagious', Experts Say," news.bbc.co.uk, July 26, 2007
John Cawley, PhD, "Labor Market Impacts of Obesity," Economics of Obesity, May 2004
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "About BMI for Adults," www.cdc.gov, last updated July 27, 2009
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "Obesity: Halting the Epidemic by Making Health Easier," www.cdc.gov, Feb. 2009
Nicholas A. Christakis, MD, PhD, and James H. Fowler, PhD, "The Spread of Obesity in a Large Social Network over 32 Years," New England Journal of Medicine, July 26, 2007
Robert Crosnoe, "Gender, Obesity, and Education," Sociology of Education, July 2007
David M. Cutler, Edward L. Glaeser, and Jesse M. Shapiro, "Why Have Americans Become More Obese?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, Summer 2003
Jeffrey Friedman, "The Real Cause of Obesity," Newsweek, Sep. 10, 2009
Harris Interactive, "Weight and Obesity in America," www.harristinteractive.com, June 19, 2007
Gina Kolata, "Study Says Obesity Can Be Contagious," New York Times, July 25, 2007
Marilynn Larkin, "Limits of Willpower" New York Times, Sep. 30, 2007
Medical News Today, "Is Obesity a Disease?" www.medicalnewstoday.com, Nov. 10, 2003
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention & Health Promotion (NCCD), "Prevalence and Trends Data: Overweight and Obesity (BMI) - 2008," apps.nccd.cdc.gov, last reviewed May 15, 2009
Obesity Society, "The Obesity Society Calls Billboard Campaign Offensive and Off-Target," www.obesity.org, Aug. 2009
Rob Stein and Ceci Connolly, "Medicare Changes Policy on Obesity," Washington Post, July 16, 2004
US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), "HHS Annouces Revised Medicare Obesity Coverage Policy," www.hhs.gov, July 15, 2004
Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, "F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009," www.healthyamericans.org, July 2009
Lan-Juan Zhao, et al., "Relationship of Obesity with Osteoporosis," Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, May 2007
Portion Sizes: How Big or Small Should They Be?
