By the end of this chapter, you will:

• Understand the critical part played by food, diets and dieting in health, illnesses and deaths associated with obesity.
• Understand theories, interventions and the evidence on obesity and overweight
• Understand the ‘Energy Surfeit Theory’ and its inability to explain obesity
• Show an awareness of the evidence for and against different theories of obesity
• Describe interventions for obesity and overweight and the evidence on their effectiveness
• Show an awareness of the main approaches to obesity prevention