Obesity

Obesity is a condition in which the natural energy reserve, stored in the fatty tissue of humans and other mammals, is increased to a point where it is associated with certain health conditions or increased mortality.

Although obesity is an individual clinical condition, it is increasingly viewed as a serious and growing public health problem, excessive body weight has been shown to predispose to various diseases like: 

• Cardiovascular diseases,
•  Diabetes mellitus type 2,
•  Sleep apnea
• Osteoarthritis.
• Raised blood pressure
• Raised blood cholesterol
• Low levels of physical activity

People who are overweight have an increased risk of Coronary Heart Disease. 

• There are 44% of men and 35% women in England who are overweight with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25-30kg/m2.
• Almost 23% of men and 24% of women are obese with a BMI of above 30kg/m2
• Around a third of boys and girls aged 2-15 years are overweight or obese

BMI is calculated by dividing the subject's weight by the square of his/her height, typically expressed either in Metric: BMI = kg / m2

• A BMI less than 18.5 is underweight
• A BMI of 18.5–24.9 is normal weight
• A BMI of 25.0–29.9 is overweight
• A BMI of 30.0–39.9 is obese
• A BMI of 40.0 or higher is severely (or morbidly) obese
• A BMI of 35.0 or higher in the presence of at least one other significant comorbidity is also classified by some bodies as morbid obesity

The adverse effect of excess weight is more pronounced when fat is concentrated mainly in the abdomen, known as central obesity.  Around a third of men and women in England have it.

The absolute waist circumference (>102 cm in men and >88 cm in women) or waist-hip ratio (>0.9 for men and >0.85 for women) are both used as measures of central obesity

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