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Obesity is the world's major cause for chronic diseases, disability
September 5, 2006
By ANDnetwork .com
Johannesburg (AND) Increased consumption of more energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods with high levels of sugar and saturated fats, combined with reduced physical activity are some of the reasons why there are over 1 billion fat adults in the world.
The World Health Organisation says there are more than 1 billion overweight adults globally, with at least 300 million of them obese.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), this is a major contributor to the global burden of chronic disease and disability.
Increased consumption of more energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods with high levels of sugar and saturated fats, combined with reduced physical activity, have led to obesity rates that have risen three-fold or more since 1980 in some areas of North America, the United Kingdom, eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Pacific Islands, Australasia and China.
The obesity epidemic is not restricted to industrialised societies - this increase is often faster in developing countries than in the developed world, WHO said in a statement.
Obesity and overweight pose a major risk for chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, and certain forms of cancer.
Defining obesity, overweight
The prevalence of overweight and obesity is commonly assessed by using body mass index (BMI), defined as the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in metres (kg/m2 ).
A BMI over 25kg/m2 is defined as overweight, and a BMI of over 30kg/m2 as obese. These markers provide common benchmarks for assessment, but the risks of disease in all populations can increase progressively from lower BMI levels.
Adult mean BMI levels of 22-23kg/m2 are found in Africa and Asia, while levels of 25-27kg/m2 are prevalent across North America, Europe, and in some Latin American, North African and Pacific Island countries.
BMI increases amongst middle-aged elderly people, who are at the greatest risk of health complications. In countries undergoing nutrition transition, over-nutrition often co-exists with under-nutrition. People with a BMI below 18.5kg/m2 tend to be underweight.
The distribution of BMI is shifting upwards in many populations. And recent studies have shown that people who were undernourished in early life and then become obese in adulthood, tend to develop conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes at an earlier age and in more severe form than those who were never undernourished.
Prevention
Effective weight management for individuals and groups at risk of developing obesity involves a range of long-term strategies, according to WHO.
These include prevention, weight maintenance, management of co-morbidities and weight loss. They should be part of an integrated, multi-sectoral, population-based approach, which includes environmental support for healthy diets and regular physical activity.
Key elements include:
* Creating supportive population-based environments through public policies that promote the availability and accessibility of a variety of low-fat, high-fibre foods, and that provide opportunities for physical activity.
* Promoting healthy behaviours to encourage, motivate and enable individuals to lose weight by: - eating more fruit and vegetables, as well as nuts and whole grains;
- engaging in daily moderate physical activity for at least 30 minutes;
- cutting the amount of fatty, sugary foods in the diet;
- moving from saturated animal-based fats to unsaturated vegetable-oil based fats.
* Mounting a clinical response to the existing burden of obesity and associated conditions through clinical programmes and staff training to ensure effective support for those affected to lose weight or avoid further weight gain.
AND, Johannesburg Bureau
