Summary

In a survey of the 50 US states in 1985, the highest rates of obesity reported were 10–14% per capita in 8 states. This number changed drastically in the last 30 years, with 4 of the 50 states reporting >25% obesity in 2003, and the vast majority of the remaining states reporting 20–24% obesity. This article gives an overview of obesity, its relationship to diabetes, and what this means to cardiologists.