CNBC Original ONE NATION, OVERWEIGHT Airs 5/18

It is a fight without end, a battle often to the death, and one we are apparently losing. It is the American struggle with obesity, one that costs the nation $147 billion, and an untold number of lives, every year.

In the next CNBC original, correspondent Scott Wapner looks at the costs and casualties of obesity. Nearly two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese, despite a $60 billion dollar array of products, services, diets and foods designed to help lose weight. CNBC goes to the front lines where the battle against fat is being fought, including a cutting-edge pharmaceutical company hoping to develop an obesity drug that could, if successful, be a financial and culturAl Blockbuster. We see businesses both large and small that are investing in their employees’ weight loss. We meet a retired Navy vet who is among a growing number of overweight patients choosing the seemingly desperate option of having their stomachs surgically restricted. We also get an intimate look at a weight loss boot camp called The Biggest Loser Resort, an enterprise that is helping some lose pounds, and others make money.

See where the waistline meets the bottom line in this fascinating and sober look at a problem that affects most American people and every American pocketbook.