What is obesity?

Morbid obesity is by many seen as one of the biggest challenges to public health in the 21st Century. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes it as the "epidemic of the 21st Century". It is entitled as a major cause of non-communicable chronic diseases and premature deaths. Here, the trend is still increasing: Overweight and obesity do not only pose a serious health problem in industrialized nations, but increasingly also in developing countries. According to WHO the cost estimates of this epidemic is approximated to several billion dollars per year. Also for the cost the tendency is still rising.