Overweight and obesity affect 65% of the US public1 and the US government spends in excess of $200 billion per year on obesity-associated conditions and diseases.2 For the first time in human history, there are more overweight people (2.1 billion) in the world than underweight individuals.3 Forecasts suggest that the prevalence of obesity will double worldwide in the next 30 years, with the epicenter of the epidemic in China and India as persons in these countries assume Western eating habits.4,5