Designed as a textbook for nutrition students and healthcare professionals, this strongly organized guide looks at the problem of obesity, primarily in North America. It begins with a quote from the US Surgeon General on the possibility that obesity may create the first generation in US history where people live less long and are less healthy than their parents. The rest of the book looks at assessing and managing the problem. The book was written by Alexandra G. Kazaks (nutrition and exercise science, Bastyr U., WA) and Judith S. Stern (emerita, nutrition and internal biology, U. California at Davis, CA). Both have written together on the subject before, and Stern is a prolific writer on obesity for the popular press; the book is well written in a very accessible style. It is divided into two sections: epidemology, assessment, causes, and risks of obesity, and strategies for weight management and obesity reduction. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)