How serious is the obesity problem?

Alexandra Brewis Slade and James Levine of Mayo Clinic-ASU Obesity Solutions Initiative appeared on the Eight, Arizona PBS show "Horizon" to discuss the obesity pandemic.

"Not only are we not eating right and are inactive all of the time, we also have built this culture around us that makes being healthy very, very difficult," said Levine, co-director of the initiative. "We all want to make right choices, but it is very difficult to step out and eat healthy, and afford to eat healthy and live right." 

"We're seeing globalization and what we call fat stigma," Slade, director of operations of the initiative, said. "The idea that we judge people because of their weight is also problematic because we know that the stigma makes it more difficult for people to lose weight and keep it off."

"Who would want to be obese when it is so stigmatized, there are health problems associated with it, and you can't get around?" Levine asked. "Who would choose that?"