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Obesity and Genetics: A Public Health Perspective

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The Public Health Perspective focuses on a single topic and contains information and commentary on discoveries of genetic variants, related disease outcomes, and the complex social, legal, and ethical issues surrounding genetic discoveries.

This Public Health Perspective examines the topic of Obesity and Genetics:  A Public Health Perspective.

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"Obesity and Genetics: A Public Health Perspective" is a collaborative effort by the CDC's National Office of Public Health Genomics and the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity at CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Please direct additional questions and inquires about obesity and overweight to Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity.

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arrow The Public Health Perspective
  • Obesity and Genetics: A Public Health Perspective
    Obesity, a physiological disorder that results in the excessive accumulation of body fat, is a major health hazard worldwide and is associated with several relatively common diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and some cancers.

arrow The Problem of Obesity
  • Obesity and Overweight: Defining Overweight and Obesity
    Overweight and obesity are both labels for ranges of weight that are greater than what is generally considered healthy for a given height. The terms also identify ranges of weight that have been shown to increase the likelihood of certain diseases and other health problems.
  • U.S. Obesity Trends 1985 to 2005
    The prevalence of obesity is explained in a slide presentation format. You may view the slides online or download them as a Microsoft PowerPoint document (PPT).
  • Overweight Prevalence
    Recent results of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003-2004 indicate that an estimated 66% of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese, defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or more. The percentage of children and adolescents who are defined as being overweight has more than doubled since the early 1970s. About 17% of children and adolescents aged 2-19 are now seriously overweight.

arrow The Genetics of Obesity
 
arrow Healthy Weight

 

arrow Journal Articles on Genetics and Obesity
 
arrow Presentations on Genetics and Obesity


This reference links to a non-governmental website
 Provides link to non-governmental sites and does not necessarily represent the views of the Centers  for Disease Control and Prevention.
Page last reviewed: June 8, 2007 (archived document)
Page last updated: November 27, 2007
Content Source: National Office of Public Health Genomics