Obesity Facts, Obesity definition
Understand what obesity and overweight is

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally.

According to the latest available statistics (2009) published by the World Health Organization (WHO), there are more than 1.6 billion overweight adults (age 15+) worldwide.  At least 400 million of them are clinically obese.

But what is obesity really? 
Is it something different to being overweight?

For a start it’s important that you should realize that overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair your health.

To determine if someone is either overweight or obese, a simple index called the BMI (Body Mass Index) can be used. The BMI is a simple index of weight-for-height that is commonly used to classify a person as overweight or obese.  It is defined as the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the persons height in meters (kg/m2).

Obesity definition: The World Heath Organization (WHO) defines overweight as a BMI equal to or more than 25 and obesity as a BMI equal to or more than 30. BMI can be considered an alternative for direct measures of body fat.  Aditionally, BMI is an inexpensive and easy-to-perform method of screening for weight categories that may lead to health problems. 

At an individual level, BMI can be used as a screening tool but is not diagnostic of the body fatness or health of an individual. A trained healthcare provider should perform appropriate health assessments in order to evaluate an individual’s health status and risks.

Are YOU overweight or obese?

Use this BMI to find out right now!

How serious is the problem really?

Worldwide, a shocking 22 million children under the age of five years are overweight (WHO, 2005).  According to the U.S. Surgeon General, in the U.S. the number of overweight children has doubled and the number of overweight adolescents has trebled since 1980.  This problem is  global and increasingly extends into the developing world. Studies have shown that the prevalence of obesity in 5 - 12 year old children increased from 12.2% to nearly 16% in just two years.

• Adult obesity rates increased in 23 states and did not decrease in a single state in the last year (2009)
• In addition, the percentage of obese or overweight children is at or above 30% in 30 states
• Mississippi has the highest rate of adult obesity at 32.5%. Four states now have rates above 30%, including Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia and Tennessee. 
• Adult obesity rates now exceed 25% in 31 states and exceed 20% in 49 states
• Sixteen states experienced an increase in obesity for the second year in a row, and even states experienced an increase for the third straight year
  Measured against a background that no state had an obesity rate of more than 15% in 1980 and 20% in 1991, these statistics are alarming.
• There are currently 9.6 million American adults with the BMI index of 35 to 40, and another 6 million who are now morbidly obese with a BMI index of more than 40.

The picture in the UK is just as disturbing:

• In 2007, 24% of adults in England were classified as obese, an overall increase from 15% in 1993.
• 37% of adults had raised waist circumference in 2007 compared to only 23% in 1993

Unfortunately, the epidemic of overweight and obesity is still on the increase. The WHO projects that by 2015, approximately 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and more than 700 million will be obese.

These statistics, alarming as it is, does not the reflect the impact and consequences of the disease on a global socio-economic scale.

Click here for more Obesity Facts