Dickerson et al. BMC Public Health 2011, 11:926 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/11/926 refined the statistical analyses and drafted several portions of the manuscript with specific focus on the methods section. MB framed the obesity concepts and assisted in editing and drafting the content specific portions of the manuscript with specific focus on the discussion section. MO assisted in drafting the abstract, research question, conclusion, and performed extensive editing of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Received: 2 June 2011 Accepted: 14 December 2011 Published: 14 December 2011 References 1. Ford ES, Li C, Zhao G, Tsai J: Trends in obesity and abdominal obesity among adults in the United States from 1999-2008. Int J Obes 2011, 35(5):736-743. 2. WHO:[http://apps.who.int/bmi/index.jsp?introPage=intro_3.html]. 3. 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