Editor's Note: This article is the first in a three-part series about health issues linked to nutritional problems in American Indian communities. 

The battle with obesity has become one of the most urgent health issues in America today, as over one third of adults and 17 percent of children are now obese. But for Native Americans, this problem is even more dire. 

American Indian (AI) and Alaska Native (AN) adults are 1.6 times more likely to be obese than Caucasians, according to the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Minority Health. Almost 33 percent of all American Indians and Alaskan Natives are obese, and over half of AI/AN women are overweight. 

As a result, health consequences stemming from obesity, such as diabetes and heart disease, are also common among AI/AN people. Indeed, 16.1 percent of Native Americans and Alaskan Natives suffer from Type II diabetes, which has been closely linked to obesity. This is the highest age-adjusted prevalence of diabetes among all U.S. racial and ethnic groups, according to the American Diabetes Association.