To Be or Not To Be—Obese

Abstract

The prevalence of obesity in westernized societies is now considered by epidemiologists to be at an epidemic level. Slightly over a third of adult Americans are considered obese because they have a body mass index of more than 30 kg/m2 (1). Additionally, the percentage of the U.S. population that has a body mass index of more than 25 (considered “overweight”) is almost 70%, which gives even more “food” for thought (1). The consistent failure, for reasons of compliance or adverse actions, of multiple weight-management strategies is a worrying trend. In this issue of Endocrinology, Lockie et al. (2) potentially offer rational modifications to one of these “failed” treatments, rimonabant, that may allow a more positive reception of what was considered an effective, but flawed, weight-management drug.