ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on obesity patterns and trends. It explores several themes. The first is the general shift of obesity representing a global problem rather than one centered in a few high-income countries. The second is the rapid increase in obesity found in lower- and middle-income developing countries—a rate of change that appears to be greater than that found in higher-income countries. The third is the shift in the burden of obesity toward the poor on a worldwide basis. The chapter presents the limited comparable data on trends in adolescent obesity across the globe, with specific attention to the link between obesity and economic and social development. It provides via use of a nationally representative longitudinal survey of US adolescents, insights into the patterns of obesity changes over the adolescent and young adult period in the U.S.
