The Obesity Epidemic in Mississippi: A Mirror for the Nation

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Thad Waites, MD Obesity is a nationwide epidemic, but this is nowhere more apparent than in Mississippi, which was ranked as the state with the highest obesity rate in 2009 by the Centers for Disease Control. How does the obesity issue in Mississippi mirror that of the rest of the nation, and what efforts are underway to address this public health problem? Dr. Thad Waites, director of the cardiac catheterization lab at Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and interventional cardiologist at the Hattiesburg Clinic, talks about how each player in the healthcare community can target the obesity epidemic. What initiatives and projects are demonstrating success in lowering obesity rates? Dr. Janet Wright hosts. Produced in Cooperation with