Moment of Truth Homepage Title

Khaliah Ali has teamed up with ObesityHelp, Inc., a leading resource for obese individuals, and Allergan, Inc., the makers of the
LAP-BAND® Adjustable Gastric Banding System, for the "Moment of Truth" obesity health education campaign. This campaign is designed to help the millions of individuals who are more than 100 pounds overweight recognize the physical and emotional impact obesity has on their lives, and motivate them to talk to their doctors about appropriate, safe and effective weight-loss solutions.

Obesity is a growing national epidemic: approximately 127 million adults in the United States are overweight, 60 million are obese, and 9 million are severely obese.1 This chronic disease is caused by any one of a combination of environmental (social and cultural), genetic, physiologic, metabolic, behavioral and psychological factors, and in 2000 the disease cost this country an estimated $117 billion. 2,3,4

Many of the individuals suffering from this disease are cycling through ineffective diets and often fighting life-threatening co-morbidities as a result of their obesity. Through this campaign, Khaliah Ali - fashion designer, author and daughter of former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali - shares her own struggle with obesity and personal turning point in the hopes of helping others reach their own "moment of truth" and see the possibility of life without obesity.

To help you better understand the emotional and physical impact obesity has on your life, please review the Moment of Truth Self-Assessment Tool.

Learn more about obesity statistics and weight-loss options.

1 American Obesity Association. AOA Fact Sheets. Available at www.obesity.org/education/advisor.shtml. Accessed 1/18/07
2 American Obesity Association. Obesity Surgery. Available at http://www.obesity.org/treatment/obesity.shtml. Accessed 1/18/07.
3 CDC Diseases and Conditions. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/node.do/id/0900f3ec8000e035. Accessed 3/9/07.
4 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General's Call To Action To Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity in 2001. http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/pdf/CalltoAction.pdf. Accessed 2/23/07