The number of overweight and obese Americans has reached epidemic proportions: two-thirds of adults and nearly one in three children are overweight or obese. The sobering impact of these numbers is reflected in the nation’s concurrent epidemics of diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic diseases.

Both the prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity and their associated health problems are important public health goals of the Surgeon General, who is calling on all Americans to balance healthful eating with regular physical activity. Read the publications below to learn how we can become a nation that is both healthy and fit.