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Obesity – A global epidemic

What is Obesity?

Obesity refers to having excess amount of body fat.

Overweight refers to weighing too much which may come from muscles, bone, fat and water.

Mortality due to Overweight and Obesity

According to WHO studies, it is estimated that around 2.8 million people die every year due to overweight or obesity.

Measurement of Overweight and Obesity

 

Body Mass Index (BMI)

BMI is the most common tool used to estimate overweight and obesity in adults as well as in children.

Adults: The range of overweight and obesity are estimated by using weight and height to compute BMI of a subject.

Children: Children growth rate will be different at different times. So it’s not that easy to decide whether a child comes under obesity or over weight. Thus BMI for children will be calculated by comparing height and weight of children with same age and sex.

Classification for BMI

Classification	BMI
Underweight	<18.5 Kg/m2
Normal weight	18.5-24.9 Kg/m2
Overweight	25-29.9 Kg/m2
Obesity(class1)	30-34.9 Kg/m2
Obesity(class2)	35-39.9 Kg/m2
Extreme obesity (class3)	≥40 Kg/m2

                                                                              

Waist circumference

Excess level of abdominal fat is a vital risk factor for numerous diseases. Measurement of waist to hip ratio is useful in identifying diseases.

Increasing waist lines enhances the risk for cancer

A high waist circumference is associated with enhanced risk for type 2 diabetics, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and dyslipidemia in patients whose BMI is in between 25 and 34.9 Kg/m²_.Men are at greater risk if their waist circumference is more than 40 inches (102 cm).Women is at increased risk if their waist circumference is greater than 35 inches (88 cm).

Reasons:

Overweight and obesity occurs due to energy imbalance. Body weight remains the same when the no.of calories taking in is equal to the no.of calories burns. If consumption of calories is more compared to burning of calories this leads to overweight and obesity.

Other factors that tips towards overweight and obesity includes inactive lifestyle, family history and genetic causes, hormone related problems like hypothyroidism, cushing’s syndrome and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), smoking and lack of sleep, attitudes and emotional factors, eating habits and income.

Risks of Overweight and Obesity

                                                                                                 

Heart diseases  Brain stroke  Liver damage High blood pressure  Reproductive problems Type2 diabetics Abnormal blood fats Osteoarthritis Sleep apnea Gall stones Colon cancer Endometrial cancer Breast cancer Kidney cancer