Emerging Issues

With increased obesity and its associated comorbidities, newly developed pharmaceuticals²⁶ and increased use of bariatric surgery²⁷ are likely to be considered as treatment options. Appropriate monitoring, such as efficacious data collection, medical care, and quality assurance, is needed to evaluate the benefits and risk of these and other therapies.

Nevertheless, prevention rather than treatment may hold the highest potential in reversing the trend in increased obesity in the United States. In addition, the concerted efforts of all sectors of society, together with conscious actions by individuals, may offer the greatest hope for improved health among Americans and substantial progress on all of the nutrition and overweight objectives by 2010.

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