The Weight of the Nation

68.8% of U.S. adults age 20+ are overweight or obese, while 31.7% of children and adolescents age 2-19 are overweight or obese. More alarming, obesity contributes to six of the ten leading causes of death in America, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and high blood pressure. Says Dr. Francis S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, "If we don't succeed in turning this epidemic around, we are going to face, for the first time in our history, a situation where our children are going to live shorter lives than we do." The Weight Of The Nation is a documentary series that addresses the obesity epidemic and its devastating effects. Comprising of four documentary films, it spotlights the facts and myths of this urgent public health issue, showing how obesity affects and cripples the health care system. Three years in the making, the series features case studies and interviews with leading experts and with individuals and families struggling with obesity. (HBO Europe)