"There has been a staggering increase in the prevalence of obesity over the past 30 years in the United States," wrote the authors of this study, which was led by Elizabeth Selvin, PhD, MPH, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland.
Low back pain (LBP) is a major public health problem due to its high prevalence and staggering socioeconomic impact [ 1– 5].
New models and interventions to prevent childhood obesity and reverse the staggering increases in obesity prevalence over the past 40 years are needed.
[ 629] It is well known that there has been a staggering increase in the prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and especially type 2 diabetes, in the last 50 years or so, and that this increase is expected to continue (e.g. [ 641- 643] and ).
Current prevalence rates are staggering and are expected to continue to climb over the ensuing decades.
Moreover, recent data indicate a staggering 30% increase in the prevalence of this condition in one decade [ 46].
This can result in low socioeconomic status for women, larger family sizes, high prevalence of infectious diseases and staggering infant/child mortality.
The economic costs of diabetes are staggering and will increase even more with increasing prevalence and the advent of new medical technology [ 6].
Concomitant with the staggering rise in the obesity epidemic is the prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) which is now estimated to affect ~30%% of the adult population in the United States, and is present in 75 100 % of obese or morbidly obese individuals [ 1, 2].
