A problem with statistics like these, and the inferences drawn from them, is that they do not take into account the starkly different people groups within the US. Asian countries are, by and large, genetically heterogeneous (look at Japan, for example), as are many European nations. The genetic diversity of the US should be taken into account, as well as the rates of obesity associated with certain people groups. Poverty, low education levels, and genetic ancestry (as well the combination of the three) are clearly associated with obesity. Until that is recognized, any attempt to throw federal tax money at America's "obesity problem" is bound to fail.