The dual epidemics of obesity and diabetes that developed in the 1990s continue to increase. More than half of Americans are overweight, about one in 5 is obese and 7.3 percent have diabetes. An estimated 300,000 US adults die from causes related to obesity each year. In a recent study of 184,450 US adults only 24.4 percent of participants reported eating fruits and vegetables five or more times daily. In addition, 27 pecent of participants did not engage in any physical activity, and another 28.2 percent were not regularly active. (The Medical Society of the State of New York encourages able adults to engage in at least 30 minutes of physical actvity of moderate intensity every day!)
