What is overweight and obesity?
Overweight and obesity means an accumulation of surplus fat that can harm health. In general usage the terms overweight and obesity are often mixed together. In medical and scientific contexts they are two concepts that are entirely different. WHO (World Health Organization) classifies obesity as an illness and a serious threat against health and defines underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity in accordance with the below-mentioned compilation. The table also depicts the degree of risk of suffering from obesity-related complications.1
Obesity is a chronic disease and its symptoms and complications develop gradually. In its early stages obesity can make it difficult to walk, produces back pain and tiredness, skin diseases and breathlessness. Untreated obesity has a tendency to worsen and can then lead to life-threatening illnesses, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, some types of cancer, high cholesterol value and sleep apnoea.2 It is therefore important to seek professional help if you are afflicted with obesity.
There is an alarming increase of overweight and obesity throughout the world. In Europe, there are today at least 135 million obese people and around 6 million with high-grade obesity. The prevalence of the disease is believed to have doubled during the last 20 years. The rate if increase varies between different counties in Europe. England is the country which has the fastest increases. The incidence of obesity there is today reported to be above 20%.3
Reference
- Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic. Report of a WHO Consultation. Geneva, World Health Organization 2004
- Gastrointestinal Surgery for Severe Obesity. NIH Consens Statement Online 1991 Mar 25-27;9(1):1-20
- www.iotf.org/media/iotfmar17.pdf