The Perfect Stock for the Obesity Trend

Updated from 11:10 a.m. EDT

Obesity has steadily become a national nightmare in the U.S. and is on its way to becoming a global epidemic. For the first time in hundreds of years, the average lifespan could actually begin to decrease because of the effects of obesity.

Here are some basic numbers:

• Two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese.
• Roughly 60 million Americans are considered obese.
• Within 50 years, obesity will likely shorten the average lifespan of Americans -- 77.6 years -- by at least two to five years.
• Some 3.8 million Americans weigh over 300 pounds.
• The prevalence of obesity among children has quadrupled in the past 25 years.

Unfortunately, I believe the war against obesity is over. And obesity has won. At Stockpickr, we've identified a stock play that takes advantage of a media trend that can perfectly capitalize on our failure to win this war.

Hint: It's not a diet, health or fitness-related stock. That means it's not Weight Watchers(WTW Quote - Cramer on WTW - Stock Picks), Nike(NKE Quote - Cramer on NKE - Stock Picks) or Life Time Fitness(LTM Quote - Cramer on LTM - Stock Picks).

To read the rest of this story and find out what the ultimate play on obesity is, please click here.

---

A note from James Altucher:

Every weekend I send an email to Jim Cramer and several hedge fund managers about the most interesting portfolios posted on Stockpickr that week. Usually those portfolios not only list stocks according to a theme but also offer significant analysis as to why the stocks are cheap.

Here are some examples:

• Stocks related to drilling the Marcellus Shale
• MLPS with yields above 7%
• Microcaps trading for less than tangible book
• Stocks that do well after Hurricanes

Here's the challenge: Build a portfolio at Stockpickr.com with great analysis, and send me the link. Each great portfolio (with analysis) will get posted on TheStreet.com with your byline (as a "Stockpickr Guest Columnist") and will be included in my email I send to Jim and the other hedge fund managers on my list.