More than two in three adults in the United States are considered overweight or obese, with substantial biomedical and clinical evidence suggesting that chronic overconsumption of a “western diet” – foods consisting high levels of sugars and fats – is a major cause of this epidemic. New research by scientists at the University of California, Riverside now shows that chronic consumption of a western diet leads to overeating and obesity due to elevations in “peripheral endocannabinoid signaling.”