Overweight and Obesity

OBESITY
Definition
Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a
risk to health. A crude population measure of obesity is the body mass index (BMI), a
person’s weight (in kilograms) divided by the square of his or her height (in metres).
An adult with a BMI of 30 or more is generally considered obese & one with a BMI equal to
or more than 25 is considered overweight.
For children under 5 years of age: overweight is weight-for-height greater than 2 standard
deviations above WHO Child Growth Standards median; and obesity is weight-for-height
greater than 3 standard deviations above the WHO Child Growth Standards median.
For children aged between 5–19 years: overweight is BMI-for-age greater than 1 standard
deviation above the WHO Growth Reference median; and obesity is greater than 2 standard
deviations above the WHO Growth Reference median.
Epidemiology
Once considered a problem only in high-income countries, overweight and obesity are now
dramatically on the rise in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in urban settings.
Worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975.
In 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these over 650
million were obese.
39% of adults aged 18 years and over were overweight in 2016, and 13% were obese.
Most of the world's population live in countries where overweight and obesity kills more
people than underweight.
39 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2020.
Over 340 million children and adolescents aged 5-19 were overweight or obese in 2016.
Obesity is preventable
In the Eastern Mediterranean Region physical exercise had become a leisure activity; people
had air-conditioned cars and bought their food from supermarkets. Along the same lines,
dietary habits had undergone a major change as well. Fat consumption rose, fast food outlets
were found everywhere and most inhabitants of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries
reportedly had processed foods at every meal.
WHO data indicates that the prevalence of overweight/ obesity (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m²) for adults
in Iraq (2005) was 40.1% for males and 50.8% for females; the prevalence of obesity is 7.2
%.and 16.8 % for males and females respectively the mean BMI (kg/m²) is 24.1 for males
and 25.2for females
In Holy Karbala, Overweight &Obesity affects about 30% of adult population in Karbala, and
it is higher in women (Alhilaly et.al. 2006). Among university students (2010), the
prevalence of overweight was 22.9% and that of obesity was 5.6%
Causes obesity and overweight

The fundamental cause of obesity and overweight is an energy imbalance between calories
consumed and calories expended. Globally, there has been:
 an increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat and sugars; and
 an increase in physical inactivity due to the increasingly sedentary nature of many
forms of work, changing modes of transportation, and increasing urbanization.
Changes in dietary and physical activity patterns are often the result of environmental and
societal changes associated with development and lack of supportive policies in sectors such
Page 1 of 3
as health, agriculture, transport, urban planning, environment, food processing, distribution,
marketing, and education.
In summary Etiology and Risk Factors can be summarized as follows:
1. Genetic susceptibility (Infants stunted in early life may be more prone to obesity later)
2. Dietary habits
3. Physical inactivity
4. Environmental and social factors :
a. Changes in lifestyle and of increased urbanization (sedentary lifestyles,
availability of transport and fat rich fast meals).
b. increased income
5. Drugs: antihistamines, steroids, beta-blockers, thiazides, sulfonylureas, insulin,
tricyclic antidepressants, phenothiazines. lithium
Significance
The health consequences range from increased risk of premature death, to serious chronic
conditions that reduce the overall quality of life.
 In adultes, obesity incérasses the risk of type. 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, stroke,
sleep-apnea, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, back pain and some cancers (including
endometrial, breast, ovarian, prostate, liver, gallbladder, kidney, and colon). If you are
obese, losing even 5 to 10 percent of your weight can delay or prevent some of these
diseases. Abdominal obesity is an independent risk factor for diabetes, cardiovascular
diseases and breast cancer.
 Obesity in children often leads to obesity later in life and, sometimes, psychosocial
problems.
Recognition
Obesity is easy to see.
Obesity in adults is identified by:
1. BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2
2. Waist circumference (≥ 102 cm in men; ≥ 88 cm in women). (≥ 94 & ≥ 80
respectively in industrialized countries)
3. Waist-hip ratio (≥ 0.9 for men and ≥ 0.85 for women)
4. Increasing weight or waist circumference in a normal weight adult are signs of
potential obesity.
For children, a weight for height of +2 Z scores* is used, and weight charts are being
developed. (. *Z score is the number of standard deviations from the median.)
There is no agreed classification of adolescent obesity
Prevention
1. Primary prevention:
a. Advising at-risk people to eat diets low in fat and high in starch and fibre (i.e. cereals,
roots, legumes, fruits and vegetables), take regular exercise (60 minutes a day for
children and 150 minutes spread through the week for adults). and avoid too much
sedentary activity;
b. Addressing underlying environmental and social causes, for example controlling
inappropriate advertising, providing sports facilities and encouraging activities such
as cycling and walking.
2. Secondary prevention
Treating obesity is difficult. A weight loss of not more than 15% over a few months is usually
more feasible than trying to reach an 'ideal weight'. Patients should:
Page 2 of 3
a. Reduce energy intake. Compliance is usually better if reduction is not more than 500
kcal/ day. Crash diets are rarely successful.
b. Increase physical activity. Many obese people prefer low intensity, prolonged, regular
exercise.
c. Severe obesity may require more drastic action such as surgery. Obese patients need
sympathetic continuous monitoring. Well-managed self-help or commercial weight loss
groups can give useful support.
3. Tertiary prevention:
The risk of developing obesity comorbidities is reduced by:
a. Controlling obesity.
b. Eating:
 plenty of, and a variety of cereals, pulses, fish, fruits and vegetables. this ensures an
adequate intake of protective micronutrients (e.g. folate, vitamins B6, B12, C and E, carot-
enes, and zinc) and non-nutrient compounds called phytochemicals. phytochemicals
occur in some plant foods such as cereals, soybeans, onions, tomatoes and citrus fruits and
appear to protect against cardiovascular disease and some cancers;
 only moderate amounts of fatty animal foods, alcohol and salt.
c. Taking regular aerobic and muscle building exercise.
The recommendations for populations and individuals in order to prevent chronic

diseases should include the following:
1. achieve energy balance and a healthy weight
2. limit energy intake from total fats and shift fat consumption away from saturated fats
to unsaturated fats and towards the elimination of trans-fatty acids
3. increase consumption of fruits and vegetables, and legumes, whole grains and nuts
4. limit the intake of free sugars
5. limit salt (sodium) consumption from all sources and ensure that salt is iodized
Page 3 of 3

Overweight and Obesity

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Overweight and Obesity

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Overweight and Obesity

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

OBESITY

Causes obesity and overweight

The recommendations for populations and individuals in order to prevent chronic

You might also like