Excerpt

In the 2001 Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity, former Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, PhD, warned us of the negative effects of the increasing weight of our citizens and outlined a public health response to reverse the trend. I plan to strengthen and expand this blueprint for action created by my predecessor. Although we have made some strides since 2001, the prevalence of obesity, obesity-related diseases, and premature death remains too high.

Contents

• Acknowledgements
• Message From the Surgeon General
• Background on Obesity
  • Trends
  • Disparities
  • Measuring Overweight and Obesity
  • Health Consequences
  • Causes of Obesity
• Opportunities for Prevention
  • Individual Healthy Choices and Healthy Home Environments
  • Creating a Healthy Home Environment
  • Creating Healthy Child Care Settings
  • Creating Healthy Schools
  • Creating Healthy Work Sites
  • Mobilizing the Medical Community
  • Improving Our Communities
• Closing Statement and Charge from the Surgeon General
• References

Suggested citation:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General's Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General, January 2010.