In the developed world, obesity is a serious risk factor for many chronic diseases. Besides its morbidity and mortality burden, Obesity generates a huge cost burden on countries health services. This study aims to assist policymakers in their efforts to prioritize interventions to prevent and treat obesity by calculating cost-utility ratios of the treatment modes of dietary counseling, pharmaceutical interventions and bariatric surgery.Generally, the majority of interventions were found to be either cost-saving or very cost-effective in an Israeli setting. Differences in cost-effectiveness exist within each treatment modality, but the data are not robust enough to facilitate within-modality prioritization at this point. Readers can use the methodologies in this paper to generate cost-utility ratios for their own country-specific interventions.

Mold, lead, radon, asbestos, food additives, power lines, and more: what the risks are, and how to safeguard against them. Arsenic. Mercury. Pesticides. Dioxin. Toxic gases. Your typical hazardous waste dump, right? Wrong. These materials can be found in the home. Every day, people work, live, and play amid potentially harmful toxics-things they might not even know are there. They are exposed to these toxic substances in their homes, neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, foods, and consumer products. Now, two toxics experts with decades of experience in public health have created a book that separates the risks from the myths of everyday toxics. Comprehensive and easy-to-use, this guide provides scenarios and real-life examples-including important warning signs-that show how to identify problems and what to do about them. With Q&A segments, charts to help assess risk, and a special homebuyer's guide, What's Toxic, What's Not is a book no home should be without.