The rate of obesity in the United States has doubled in the last 30 years, and those extra pounds weigh on companies' bottom lines, according to a new report from The Conference Board. Today, 34 percent of American adults fit the definition of "obese." Obese employees cost U.S. private employers an estimated $45 billion annually in medical expenditures and work loss.

In a new report, Weights and Measures: What Employers Should Know about Obesity, The Conference Board examines the financial and ethical questions surrounding whether, and how, U.S. companies should address the obesity epidemic.