Prevalence of Obesity: A Public Health Problem Poorly Understood

This review article discusses the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) in support of a total diet approach to achieving diet and health goals, especially as they relate to the obesity epidemic. However, some scientists and organizations have identified one food, food group, or nutrient as the cause of the obesity epidemic and recommend that simply reducing that food/food group/nutrient will solve the problem. This is simplistic and unlikely to be effective in long term management of the obesity problem.