CONTENTS

 

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Definitions of ‘obese’

 

Obesity levels in the UK

Obesity and income in the UK

Obesity and geography in the UK

Obesity and job status in the UK

 

Obesity levels, non UK regions and countries

 

Possible causes of obesity

a) Genetic predisposition to be fat

b) The in-utero environment

c) Acquired from the mother, pre birth

d) Having fat friends 

e) Reaction to quitting smoking

f) Big-fridge anxiety, too much choice in large supermarkets

g) Psychology of food sizes

h) New food additives

i) Gut Bacteria, viruses

j) Watching too much TV 

k) Heating systems

l) Hormones and lack of sleep

 

The medical effects of obesity

 

Diseases caused by obesity

a) Obesity and premature death

b) Cancer

c) Sleep apnoea

d) Vitamin D deficiency

e) Accelerated ageing

f) Type II diabetes

g) Hyperactivity, aggression

 

Financial costs of diet-induced obesity and ill health.

 

Combating obesity – small personal steps

 

Definitions of ‘obese’

 

Obesity is defined by one’s Body Mass Index (BMI).  The BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in metres squared.  A 1.9 metre tall person who weighs 90 kilograms would have a BMI of 90 / 1.9 squared, or 24.9.  A BMI of 20-25 is defined as normal, 25-30 is overweight, and over 30 is obese. 

 

The BMI index was developed by Adolphe Quetelet, a 19th century Belgian scientist.  (ABC of Obesity (ed Naveed Sattar and Mike Lean, 2007, Blackwell Publishing).  The main disadvantage of using this index is that muscular people such as rugby players can also have a high BMI.

 

Alternative markers of obesity include waist measurement, or waist to hip ratio.  Over 40’’, or 100 cm. waist, is risky for men; for women it is 35’’ or 88 cm.  Others look at the waist-to-hip ratio – ideally around 1.0 for men and 0.9 for women.  However it can be hard to get an accurate measurement of waist circumference, which may vary during the day anyway.  A person’s waist is generally smallest in the morning, and increases after a dinner meal in the evening.  Hip circumference is also increased by muscle mass as well as by fat.

 

Weight and height are more easily measured, so the BMI index remains popularly used.

 

Obesity is closely linked to a poor diet, with low levels of fresh fruit and vegetables and high intake of ‘junk food’, rich in calories, fat, salt, and sugar.  The diseases caused by obesity represent the principal costs of a poor-diet, both to the individual and to society.

 

Obesity levels in the UK

 

NOTES – 1) Girls / boys are persons aged 18 or less.

2) Where figures are not sex-specific, identical figures are given for both sexes and the figures starred*.

3) # Figures refer to girls / boys aged 11 to 15

4) Percentages who are ‘overweight’ do not include those who are ‘obese’.

 

year

Overweight women

Overweight men

Obese women

Obese men

Overweight girls

Overweight boys

Obese girls

Obese boys

Early 1970s

 

 

 

 

 

 

Under 2%*

Under 2%*

1980

39%

32%

6%*

6%*

 

 

 

 

1986

 

 

7%

12%

 

 

 

 

1992

40%

48%

 

 

 

 

 

 

1993

 

 

16.4%

13.2%

 

 

 

 

1994

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1995

39%

49%

17.5%

15.5%

14%#

14%#

12.0%

10.9%

1996

 

 

18.2%

16.3%

13%#

15%#

12.0%

12.0%

1997

32.8%

42.5%

20.0%

17.6%

15%#

12%#

12.2%

12.3%

1998

 

 

21.7%

17.7%

15%#

14%#

14.0%

13.2%

1999

 

 

21.5%

19.0%

14%#

12%#

14.0%

16.2%

2000

 

 

21.8%

21.1%

 

 

14.1%

14.4%

2001

39.2%

46.6%

23.9%

21.6%

19%#

15%#

14.3%

15.7%

20021

51%

61%

23.0%

22.1%

15%#

14%

17.0%

16.9%

20033

56.5%

67.5%

23.9%

23.0%

 

17%

16.1%

17.0%

20042

51%*

51%*

24.0%

23.8%

27%

27%

17.9%

18.9%

2005

42%*

42%*

24.8%

23.1%

 

 

18.1%

18.0%

2006

38%*

38%*

24%*

24%*

 

 

16%

16%

2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

16.8%

16.9%

year

Overweight women

Overweight men

Obese women

Obese men

Overweight girls

Overweight boys

Obese girls

Obese boys

12002 16% of 2 – 15 year olds were obese.

22004 8.5%-10% of six year olds and 15%-17% of 15 year olds were obese.  27% of UK 7 – 11 year olds were overweight.

32003, 27.7% of under 11’s in the UK were overweight, 5% higher than in 1995 (Guardian 30/4/05, p.1). For boys, the overweight figures rose from 22.5% to 29.6%, and for girls, from 22.9% to 25.9%.

13.7% of children between 2 and 10 were obese in 2003, up from 9.9% in 1995. For boys aged 2 – 10, obesity figures rose, 1995 – 2003, from 9.6% to 14.9%. For girls, it rose from 10.3% to 12.5%.

 

Obesity and income in the UK

 

The Food magazine, July/September 2007, p.16, noted that “Children’s obesity levels are closely linked to their family income”.

 

For the UK, 2007, girls’/boys’ obesity levels per income quintile are as below,

Income quintile

% girls obese

% boys obese

Lowest

8.2%

6.0%

2nd lowest

8.9%

5.2%

Middle

5.9%

4.5%

2nd Highest

5.6%

4.1%

Highest

3.9%

4.2%

 

Obesity and geography in the UK

 

In concordance with the link between obesity and income, the geography of obesity within the UK shows a clear link between poor areas and excess weight, and between affluent areas and slimness.

 

For 2005, the slimmest ten areas were (% obese in brackets), Kensington and Chelsea (11.5%), Westminster (11.8%), Camden (12.5%), Hammersmith and Fulham (12.7%), Wandsworth (13%), Richmond, Surrey (13.2%), Islington (13.8%), Barnet (14%), Lambeth (14.1%), and Elmbridge, Surrey 914.3%).

 

The fattest ten areas (2005) were Wansbeck, Northumberland (21.2%), Sunderland (21.2%), Barnsley, Yorkshire (21.4%), Bolsover, Derbyshire (21.4%), South Tyneside (21.4%), Sandwell, West Midlands (21.6%), Sedgefield, Durham (21.7%), Knowsley, Merseyside (21.7%), Corby, Northampton (22.1%), and Easington, Durham, 22.4%).

 

The Daily Telegraph, 23 October 2007, p.10, published regional figures for obesity in England, also indicating a link between obesity and low income; the wealthier south-east was slimmer than the north-east.

 

Region

% obese adults

% obese children

London

20.4

13.4

South East

20.3

18.2

South West

19.2

14.0

East Anglia

20.9

14.1

West Midlands

24.2

15.8

East Midlands

25.1

14.5

Yorkshire and Humberside

22.6

11.4

North West

21.6

15.0

North East

23.9

18.3

 

Obesity and job status in the UK

 

UK obesity is (inversely) related to social status. In 1998, 12% of professional men and 15% of professional women were obese. For those of managerial and technical status, the 1998 figures were 16% of men and 20% of women. For skilled non-manual, obesity affected 16% of men and 19% of women. For skilled manual workers, 21% of men and 26% of women were obese. For semi-skilled workers, 16% of men and 28% of women were obese. For unskilled manual workers, 19% of men and 31% of women were obese. Note that for men, obesity rates do not rise markedly as one descends the status scale of work once ‘skilled manual’ is reached, but for women, obesity rates rise fairly steadily right down to ‘unskilled manual. Heavier manual work by lower-status men probably contributes to this pattern.

 

In 2004 The Economist stated (20/11/04, p.32) that “Some 28% of [UK] women in the bottom social class are obese – twice the rate amongst those in the top class”. This edition of The Economist also noted, “Obese children, especially girls, are more likely to come from lower social groups, which also eat about 50% less fruit and vegetables than professionals do”.

 

Obesity levels, non UK regions and countries

 

WORLD

 

2008, 300 million people were obese (whilst others starved)

 

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WESTERN EUROPE

 

Europe in 2003 saw a rise in obesity of 40% in the previous decade. Yugoslavia (see below) tops the Euro-fat league.

In 2006, 21.6 million children are overweight.  In 2006, it is expected that by 2010 the EU will contain 150 million overweight adults and 83 million obese adults, along with 26.7 million overweight children (Eurofood, 14/12/06, p.14).  This may explain the need to enlarge the EU in 2004.

 

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Norway,

Late 1990s, 6% of people were obese.

2002, 41% of women and 63% of men were overweight.  21% children were overweight or obese

2003, 12% of adults (13% of men and 10% of women) were obese.

2006, 6.4% adults were obese, the lowest level in Europe at this time.

 

In 1982 (Economist 21/12/1985, p.115), the average calorie consumption in Norway was 3,200, which was 19% above daily requirements as calculated by the Food and Agriculture Organisation.

 

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Sweden,

year

Overweight women

Overweight men

Obese women

Obese men

Overweight girls

Overweight boys

Obese girls

Obese boys

1985

 

 

5%

5%

 

 

 

 

2000

 

 

8%

8%

 

 

 

 

2002

42%

51%

 

 

 

 

 

 

2005

16.7%

16.7%

10%

10%