Obesity is a global epidemic and an urgent health crisis impacting human health and health services, with the economic consequences of loss of human capital. It is a crisis for health professionals, health economists and government officials managing finite resources and the economy with premature loss of life and economic productivity. In this Frontiers Research Topic, researchers from a breadth of disciplines internationally contributed reviews, meta-analyses and novel data on the challenges obesity presents in attempts to stimulate debate on strategies and solutions for this crisis.