More than 36 percent of Americans are obese, and an additional 34 percent are overweight, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

These high levels of obesity mean big business for those offering ways to lose weight, from diet pills and detoxes to exercise fads and even the health care industry itself.

Every day, Americans are bombarded with weight loss and health information, get-skinny-quick schemes and the latest superfood diets guaranteed to shrink waistlines. It can seem nearly impossible to separate obesity myths from the facts people need to make good, informed decisions about their health.

Marquette Presents Series is a research series on issues of community health from the College of Health Sciences.