Obesity goes global

Oct 24 2007

According to the experts obesity is becoming a global affair and over 60% of men and 50% of women are either overweight or obese.

Researchers from the French health service INSERM conducted one of the world's largest studies on obesity and have found that the global rate of obesity is soaring.

The study the "International Day for the Evaluation of Obesity" (IDEA) looked at two measures of fatness - waist circumference and body mass index or BMI.

In their study, researchers found that over 60% of men and 50% of women were either overweight or obese and even in Asia where people are generally leaner, obesity is becoming a feature.

Dr. Beverley Balkau says the study shows that excess body weight is pandemic, and one-half to two-thirds of the overall study population is overweight or obese.

Data on more than 69,000 men and more than 98,000 women from as many as 63 countries spanning 5 continents were analysed by the researchers for the study.

The data which was based on evaluations by primary care doctors demonstrated that a quarter of both men and women met the guidelines to be considered obese, with BMI, or body mass indexes, over 30 percent.

Just under 1 out of every 3 men and nearly half of women had a waist size of greater than 40 inches; a large waist measurements doubles the risk of developing heart disease.

Canada and South Africa came top of the league with an average BMI of 29 among both men and women, with 29 among South African women; in Eastern Asia only 7% were considered obese.

A BMI of 18.5 to 25 is considered healthy, over 25 is deemed overweight and greater than 30 is obese.

People who are overweight have a higher risk of heart disease, Type II diabetes and other diseases including some cancers.

The study appears in the journal Circulation.