Obesity is a major medical problem. From 1980 to 1991, the number of overweight Americans increased by 50%. This was the largest increase ever! Since then, results of the 1999 National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey indicate that 61% of U.S. adults 20 years or older are overweight or obese. A jump like this is not due to genetics, but to the environment. The total annual cost attributable to obesity amounted to $99.2 billion dollars in 1995, which represents 5% of U.S. health-care expenditures, and a mere 20 pounds increase in weight increases your chances of suffering a heart attack by 31%! If all this money and effort are being spent on diets and the problem is getting worse, what is wrong? Author Machiel N. Kennedy, M.D. believes the whole approach to dieting is flawed. Dieting often means giving up food you like, not having fun, depriving yourself, and worst of all, dieting often fails. Living Lean is based on solid scientific research. It is a guide through the maze of weight-loss confusion and not just another diet book that sets you up for failure. Rather, it is a blueprint for success. Within the program are the tools you need to change your life. All you have to do is use them. Good health, vitality, and a healthy weight can be yours with the methods outlined in Living Lean: Your Guide to Successful Weight Loss Management.