The epidemiology of overweight and obesity: public health crisis or moral panic?

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Argues that scientific evidence does not support claims about "the obesity epidemic" and does not justify diverting scarce resources away from more pressing public health issues. Evaluates four central claims made by those who are calling for intensifying the "war on fat": that obesity is an epidemic; that overweight and obesity are major contributors to mortality; that higher than average adiposity is pathological and a primary direct cause of disease; and that significant long-term weight loss is both medically beneficial and a practical goal.