Obesity Epidemic

The obesity epidemic

The obesity epidemic has now become a global concern. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines overweight and obesity as ‘abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health’. This is measured by the Body Mass Index (BMI) of which the ranges are defined below:

The scope of the issue within Australia

Over 60% of the Australian population are now overweight or obese.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that in 1995 the prevalence of overweight and obesity was 56.3% of the population and by 2011 – 2012 this number had increased to 63%. This leaves only 35% of the population in the healthy weight range – Refer to the graph below.

Figure 1: Prevalence of overweight and obesity expressed as a percentage of the Australian population in 2011 -2012.

In 2007, the Department of Health and Aging reported 25% of children aged between 2 – 16 to be overweight or obese. This has been shown to greatly increase their risk of lifestyle related diseases in the future. They are also more inclined to remain overweight/ obese into adulthood than children within the healthy weight range.

This generation of children is predicted to be the first in the history of the U.S to have a lower life expectancy than their parents due to the morbidity and mortality associated with obesity.

The cost of obesity

Excess weight places a burden on health, social and economic systems. This is due to an increase in lifestyle diseases and complications such as diabetes, heart disease, joint problems, some cancers and sleep apnoea.

In 2008, the cost attributed to overweight and obesity was $58 billion. This included such things as health system costs, carer costs and decline in productivity.

Awareness is the key to change

The changing image of a healthy weight

Being aware of this epidemic is essential. Due to the steadily increasing weight of the entire population, the image of someone of a ‘normal’ weight is being distorted and is also increasing. In other words, what is now perceived as an average, healthy weight may in fact be closer to an overweight BMI.

Vanity sizing

Another point to consider is vanity sizing. Do you not feel wonderful when you fit into a smaller size of clothing than you expected? or when you thought you had gained weight but you find you remain the same size in a pair of jeans? I am sure many women in particular have felt this way and why wouldn’t you!
There is certainly nothing wrong with feeling good about yourself and your appearance. The problem lies within the altered sizes that mask weight gain and an adaption to the national increase in weight. This becomes a health concern.

Shops are benefited when you feel better about yourself as you tend to purchase more. I have seen ‘size 4’ clothing more commonly popping up in stores and I am guessing this is not due to an influx of very small women but is perhaps because a size 4 is the new size 6 and so on.

The image below shows an example published in an article on vanity sizing by Cosmopolitan magazine. The sizes shown are American. Vanity sizing is not as common in Australia but it is still present and even more so as overseas stores continue to pop up here.

The take home message

It is very important to be comfortable with your body! However, with an increasing acceptance of a larger population, it can be easy to slip into an unhealthy weight range without even realising or thinking much of it.

The emphasis should not be on trying to get skinny, we do not expect people to look like “twigs”. It is rather about falling within the healthy weight range which is imperative in taking care of your health. This will ultimately lead to lower levels of excess fat storage which decreases the stress placed on your body.

So what can we do?

A great place to start is to become aware of these issues and start to make some simple lifestyle changes. Weight loss and weight maintenance can be tough to begin with but forming and following healthy habits can become second nature. We can be certain that ignoring the issue or simply accepting population wide weight gain will only continue to have negative impacts.

It is all about feeling the best we can feel and maintaining good health for ourselves and our children! Keep posted for my next blog on weight management tips.

Additional facts about obesity

• The World Health Organisation reported in 2013 that at least 2.8 million people die annually as a result of being overweight and obese.
  This is from some of the leading causes of preventable death such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and certain types of cancer.
• For obese women, the risk of heart disease is doubled and the risk of diabetes is increased by seven times compared to women within a healthy weight range.
• Obesity is now also being associated with low and middle income countries.
• Obesity is the third largest contributor to burden of disease, only below smoking and hypertension.
• Risk factors for overweight and obesity include: a high BMI in childhood or early adulthood, regularly eating take away, following restrictive eating practices and being seated for over 4.5 hours/ day.
• Greater than 30% of people living in regional and remote areas are overweight or obese compared to those living in major cities.
• 3 in 5 adults and 1 in 4 children are overweight or obese in Australia.

For further statistics on overweight and obesity (such as the distribution by gender, state etc) see:
Overweight and obesity statistics – National Heart Foundation

For more information on weight management, weight loss or any other nutrition related questions, contact the ENT Clinic on 1300 123 368 to make an appointment with our dietitian Belinda Elwin.