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Its Complications and Sequelae

H. CHARLES WALKER, Jr., M.D.

AMA Arch Intern Med. 1954;93(6):951-966.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

OBESITY is the commonest physical abnormality in the United States. Its incidence has been estimated to be one-fifth of the population. Furthermore, the incidence has been gradually on the rise to the point where the United States may have the dubious honor of being entitled the most overfed nation in the world. What are the penalties of obesity? By the layman it is recognized as a definite esthetic, social, and economic handicap. To the physician the obese person is the victim of a disease accompanied by a high incidence of certain associated physical and mental pathological states and a decidedly decreased longevity. Keys¹ has pointed out the astounding fact that this country, which has the best medical care in the world, has the highest mortality rate in the middle-aged populations. In the 16 countries which have reliable vital statistics only the population of Portugal and the women of South Africa . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.

From the Veterans Administration Hospital and the Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis.

Footnotes
Sponsored by the Veterans Administration and published with the approval of the Chief Medical Director. The statements and conclusions published by the author are the result of his own study and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or policy of the Veterans Administration.