The Obesity Epidemic

A recent joint study released by the WHO (World Health Organization), Harvard University in the U.S., and Imperial College London reports that the percentage of people in the world who are overweight and obese has doubled in the past three decades. The numbers are startling by any measure: more than half a billion people in the world were clinically obese in 2008, about 11% of the entire global population. The figure is double the number of obese people identified in 1980.

Defining obesity is based on a number called the BMI, or Body Mass Index. To obtain your number you must divide your weight in kilograms by the square of your height in meters. If you are used to pounds and inches, here is how to determine the figures for BMI. First, to find your weight in kilos, simply divide your weight in pounds by 2.2, since there are exactly 2.2 pounds in a kilogram. To obtain the denominator of the calculation, take your height in inches and multiply that by 0,0254. This will give your height in meters. You then need to square that number, or multiple the number by itself. You now can divide the last number obtained into the first to get your BMI. A reading of 25-30 is considered overweight. Above 30 means you are clinically obese.

This surge of obese people in the world means that huge public health burdens are on the horizon. Because of it there will be millions of people who die prematurely. In fact the study puts the number at three million each year, and these are all preventable deaths. They will come from such diseases as cancers, heart disease, and diabetes.

Western countries like the U.S. and Australia, New Zealand, Australia, and the U.K. have led the way in creating this bad statistic. The epidemic is spreading, however, with large increases in Middle East countries and throughout Europe. The worst results of all came from Pacific Islanders. People from Samoa had BMIs averaging between 34 and 35. In Europe the largest men on average were found in Ireland and the Czech Republic, while the largest women were in Russia and Moldova.

The study reported that there was some good news despite the huge gains in the numbers of overweight and obese people. Blood pressure and cholesterol levels are under better control than they were in 1980, presumably because of better use of medications and perhaps less reliance on animal products in the diet of many people.