The prevalence of obesity in the United States and the rest of the industrialized world has skyrocketed in the past 20 years. Linked to heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome, it is also the leading cause of osteoarthritis and the second leading cause of cancer. With contributions from leading experts in the field. This book bridges the gap between emerging understanding of the pathophysiology of obesity with concrete clinical applications for physicians and other healthcare workers in all disciplines of medicine. Currently, over two thirds of the adult population in the United States is either overweight or obese. With these grim statistics, it is critically important that clinicians from all branches of medicine play an active role in diagnosing and treating obesity and its related conditions.