Obesity is a big subject, with evolutionary, genetic, biochemical, and cultural components.
And it affects us all, directly or indirectly. In my job as chairman of the department of nuclear medicine at California Pacific Medical Center, Ive observed increasing numbers of overweight patients. Obesity is a problem that frustrates both patients and physicians. In order to undergo nuclear scans, patients have to lie on a table above or below an imaging device. Until a few years ago, we used tables that would support a maximum of 250 pounds and rarely had patients too heavy for them.