Last year, the National Audit Office reported that levels of obesity in the UK have tripled over the last 20 years. This makes the British among the fattest nations in Europe and, if nothing is done to halt the epidemic, it is feared that levels will soon reach those in the US where one person in every four is obese. Every year tens of thousands of people in the western world are dying prematurely from heart disease, stroke and diabetes - all of them closely linked to obesity.
Obesity is a disease. It is the expression of a classic interaction between nature and nurture. What are the factors responsible for its development? Are we becoming more and more a nation of couch potatoes, or are we just eating too much? Do fat children become fat adults? Can anything be done to halt the obesity epidemic?
This collection of essays, based on presentations made at a national symposium on obesity, is aimed at the generalist with an interest in managing obesity and its outcomes, whether general practitioner, community nurse, dietician or hospital clinician. Its purpose is to highlight the causes and consequences of obesity and to bring modern understanding to the treatment of a problem that is still heavily stigmatised. The authors offer a wide-ranging perspective of obesity as a global problem and explore its devastating metabolic, social and political impact.
What is increasingly clear is that the seeds of many of these adult diseases are sown in childhood. The prevention of adult obesity has thus become a major challenge for the paediatrician.

Because of the long-standing Canada-U.S. lumber trade dispute and the current pressure on the world's forests as a renewable energy source, much attention has been directed toward the modelling of international trade in wood products. Two types of trade models are described in this book: one is rooted in economic theory and mathematical programming, and the other consists of two econometric/statistical models--a gravity model rooted in theory and an approach known as GVAR that relies on time series analyses. The purpose of the book is to provide the background theory behind models and facilitate readers in easily constructing their own models to analyse policy questions that they wish to address, whether in forestry or some other sector. Examples in the book are meant to illustrate how models can be used to say something about a variety of issues, including identification of the gains and losses to various players in the North American softwood lumber business, and the potential for redirecting sales of lumber to countries outside the United States. The discussion is expanded to include other products besides lumber, and used to examine, for example, the effects of log export restrictions by one nation on all other forestry jurisdictions, the impacts of climate policies as they relate to the global forest sector, and the impact of oil prices on forest product markets throughout the world. This book will appeal to practising economists and researchers who wish to examine various policies that affect international trade, whether their interest is local or international in scope. Because the book provides the theoretical bases underlying various models, students and practitioners will find this a valuable reference book or supplementary textbook.