Role of Policy and Government in the Obesity Epidemic

as a key public health priority for the United States. Obesity rates were higher than ever, with 61 % of adults nationwide overweight or obese. In the intervening years, several admin-istrations have declared a commitment to deal with the problem, and the food industry has issued numerous pledges for change, yet the prevalence of overweight and obesity has risen further, to 68%.2 Children have been particularly af-fected; 19 % of school-aged children were obese in 2007 to 2008 compared with just 6 % in the late 1970s.3 Disease rates join high healthcare costs, so everyone is affected personally, economically, or both.4,5 A wide range of government policies and programs have been implemented, including the development of national clinical guidelines, nutrition labeling on packaged foods, education and social marketing efforts, and more recently,