Many of us have become aware that statistically, the majority of Americans are overweight. Although we hear this often in the media, not everybody may realize the implications of this fact for health care and ultimately for our national economy. Not only is the excess weight associated with heart disease, a number of different cancers, and other problems; it especially is associated with diabetes. In 2011, 28.5 million of American citizens had diabetes. An additional 66 million Americans had pre-diabetic symptoms. In 2011, medical costs for diabetics were $174 billion per year. Research from a health insurance company projected that by 2020, diabetes would cost America $3.4 trillion per year. The federal government would pay over 60% of that total. Accordingly, some organizations have recommended that losing weight by reducing our intake of high-calorie foods could help save the government money by lowering the risk, and hence the incidence, of diabetes. As a result, improving our physical health also can improve our fiscal health.