LSU researchers estimate that "the direct costs of obesity in the United States is now at 39.3 billion dollars a year. That is more than 5% of all medical costs".

Market Data Enterprises says " Americans spend another $38 billion a year trying to lose weight".

Other researchers report that after a four and a half year study "the costs of long-term weight loss on one popular very-low-calorie diet program was $286.36 per pound"!! Long-term weight loss is not only expensive, but very hard to attain.

According to a Calorie Control Council (Atlanta, Ga.) survey, 48 million, or 25% of the U.S. adult population are currently on a diet. An earlier study in 1993 by the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, 62 % of American men and 71% of American women were trying to lose weight.

Obesity is not just a concern of a morbidly obese person. The problems affect society as a whole since obesity contributes to the incidence of chronic disease. According to the Surgeon General "Obesity, with it's rank among the top ten diseases, may be America's number-one contributor to health care costs".