If you have too much body fat, you are obese, just like over 70 million other Americans. It happens because you eat more calories than you use, and your body converts the excess to fat. There are lots of reasons that this can happen. Our lifestyle may lack exercise, we are given portions that are too big and too caloric when we eat, and some of us are just more efficient genetically at converting food into fat.

Fewer than half of adults in the U.S. engage in recommended levels of physical activity. A 2007 survey shows that on any given day, only 18.5% of Americans engage in exercise. At the same time, daily caloric intake for the average American has increased by more than 500 calories since 1970. In the absence of increased physical activity, 500 extra calories per day for one year translates into 52 additional pounds of body weight! With the majority of adults moving less and eating more than in years past, it is easy to see why rates of obesity and overweight have steadily risen.

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