James Steinberg Most people know that obesity can result in serious health problems, yet many of us continue to focus on its cosmetic consequences rather than its risks to health. This distorted view may change now that the American Medical Association has finally labeled obesity a disease, not just a risk factor for other disorders.
DR. PIETER COHEN is scanning the shelves inside a shop in Chinatown here when something familiar - and potentially dangerous - catches his eye. "What's that yellow box, behind the other one?" Dr. Cohen asks the clerk.