Every day, newspapers and television news programmes present stories on the latest controversies over healthcare and medical advances, but they do not have the space to provide detailed background on the issues. Websites and weblogs provide information from activists and partisans intent on presenting their side of a story. But where can students or general readers go to obtain unbiased, detailed background on the medical issues affecting their daily lives? This volume provides readers and researchers a balanced, in-depth introduction to the medical, scientific, legal, and cultural issues surrounding obesity and its importance in today's world of healthcare. "Obesity" is organised to provide researchers with easy access to the information they need. Section 1 provides overview chapters on the background information needed to intelligently understand the issues and controversies surrounding obesity, such as the physiology of obesity and the business of the diet industry. Section 2 offers capsule examinations of the contemporary issues and debates that provoke the most heated disagreements and misunderstandings, such as whether obesity is an illness, and the connection between weight and genetics. Section 3 includes reference material on obesity, including primary source documents from important players in the struggle over obesity, a timeline of important events, and an annotated bibliography of useful print and electronic resources.