Has the connection between body size and overall health been overstated for decades? This book examines how our dogged efforts to eradicate obesity may be doing more harm than good and explores alternative ways to measure and encourage health.• Presents a different perspective on the nation's "obesity epidemic" with information about the effectiveness of the current method of measuring obesity, body mass index (BMI)• Provides the most current data about the rate of obesity among both sexes, various age groups, and different ethnicities• Examines the social and political efforts to address obesity in the United States along with the impact of these efforts on those who are obese• Discusses an alternative to weight loss designed to focus on health behaviors rather than how much someone weighs