What is Obesity?
Obesity is defined as a serious chronic disease and occurs when excessively high amounts of body fat accumulates in our bodies, in relation to lean body mass.
Excess fat is accumulated in our bodies, when the energy consumed from food and drink exceeds the energy we use up (eg: in physical activities).
If you don’t use up the energy you put into your body as food, then it will be stored, often as fat. This excess of body fat resulting from caloric intake exceeding energy usage, causes Obesity.
Who is Affected by Obesity
Obesity is a serious chronic disease and is now one of the world’s biggest killers, along with other diseases such as Heart Disease, Cancer and Diabetes. It has been estimated that 41 million deaths each year (71%) is caused by these diseases.
Worldwide Obesity has nearly tripled since 1975 and is increasing at an alarming rate.
In 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults in the world (18 years and older), were overweight and over 650 million of these adults were Obese. Alarmingly, over 340 million children (5 – 19 years old) were also overweight or obese, according to WHO (June 2021).
The incidence of Obesity in Australia has also continued to rise over time.
In 2017-2018, 12.5 million adults in Australia (which is 67% or two thirds of adults) were overweight or obese and 25% or one quarter of children in Australia were obese. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 74.5% of men were obese in comparison to 59.7% of women.
In 2019, Australia was ranked 6th out of 22 countries in the world, with the highest incidence of obesity and Australian men had the 2nd highest rate of being obese, behind the United States, as recorded by AIHW (Nov 2020).
These results reveal that there has been an increasing rate of weight gain in the Australian population over the past years and that a greater proportion of men were obese than women.
Obesity is increasing worldwide due to changes in environmental and socio-economic conditions.
The good news is that Obesity is treatable and major weight loss can lead to partial or complete control of this chronic disease and weight related health problems.
Body Mass Index
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measurement used to assess health risks of Obesity.
The Body Mass Index (BMI) is the most commonly used method for determining a patient’s weight category and body size. It is used to measure whether you are in a healthy weight range for your height.
BMI is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms by your height in metres squared.
An adult with a BMI of 30 or more is considered Obese.
BMI is usually a good indicator of body fat for most people; however, BMI does not differentiate between body fat and muscle mass. Therefore, those with a lot of muscle bulk will have a high BMI, but are not necessarily overweight or obese.
It’s important to note that a reputable doctor should determine an individual’s personal BMI to assess whether their BMI or excess weight poses a health risk. An individual’s BMI should not be used alone to assess Obesity.
Further assessments for the diagnosis of Obesity include:
- Blood Tests
- Physical Examination
- Review of Family History
- Waist Measurement
- Skinfold Thickness Measurements
- Evaluation of Diet & Physical Activity
Calculate your BMI below:
