Obesity is an important risk factor for a number of chronic conditions such as heart disease, stroke, some cancers and type two diabetes. It is responsible for more than 9000 premature deaths a year in England alone and is a growing problem both among adults and children especially in the UK and USA. Community pharmacists now have an increasingly important role in public health. The increased health promotion responsibility under the new contract in the UK and improved consultation facilities now available means that a book such as this is very timely. This text focuses on pharmacists care with the first part concentrating on the background and epidemiology of the problem, the current rates of obesity and the facts, also linking obesity with the emergence of potential public health crisis. Part two of the text focuses on the prevention of obesity including prevention on government level, psychological intervention and exercise and nutrition. The chapters then go on to include the pharmacological interventions including drugs available and also surgical interventions and diets. The closing chapter looks at the structure of the evolving services from community pharmacy nationally and internationally.
