title: Obesity Epidemiology Worldwide.
abstract: Obesity continues to be a public health concern across the globe. Obesity has a demonstrated association with health behaviors and health outcomes, such as diabetes, hypertension, and cancer. Over the past 2 decades, obesity has increased worldwide and remains highest in the United States. It is critical to understand the definition of obesity, using body mass index appropriately, recent estimates, and risk factors as a framework within which clinicians should work to help reduce the burden of obesity. This framework, including the Healthy People 2020 place-based approach to social determinants of health, is described in this article.
authors.affiliation: Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8100, St Louis, MO 63110, USA. Electronic address: johnsonca@wudosis.wustl.edu.
authors.forename: Cassandra
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arroyo-Johnson
authors.affiliation: Division of Biological and Public Health Sciences, Xavier University of Louisiana, 1 Drexel Drive, Campus Box V, New Orleans, LA 70125, USA.
authors.forename: Krista D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Mincey
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D014943:Global Health / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D009656:North America / Q000453:epidemiology; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: BMI; Epidemiology; Obesity; Racial/ethnic disparities; Social determinants of health