Epidemic engulfing the world: OBESITY

The term ‘Obesity’ is derived from the Latin word ‘obesitas’ meaning ‘stout, fat or plump’. Many people relate obesity to being overweight, but these two are used in completely different context, while obesity means having excess fat in the body which has accumulated to an extent that may cause negative effects in the body, but overweight is used to describe individuals who may weigh more due to muscle, bone density, excessive fats or water in the body. But, both the term means that a person’s weight is greater then what’s considered healthy proportionate to the height, also called as Body Mass Index (BMI). When BMI is ≥ 30Kg/m², the person is said to be obese.

In 1997, the World Health Organization (WHO) formally recognized obesity as a global epidemic. And in 2008, as per WHO estimates, more than 500 million adults accounting for greater than 10 percent of the world population are obese, with women adults at a higher rate than men. But, what causes obesity? And, why do we observe a rising trend in obesity cases among both young and adults alike? Does obesity have a correlation to age, sex, race, genes, foods, etc.? These are some of the many questions about obesity that researchers across the world have been trying to get answers for, and helpfully determine if it is all really our fault that over the past decade, we have seen an increasing trend of obesity across the globe, or are there other socio-economic or environmental factors causing the increasing trend in obesity.

According to data compiled by World Obesity Federation on prevalence of obesity in selected countries, in the year between 1980-2015, obesity in England has risen from around 5 percent to almost 25 percent, in Australia, it has risen from less than 5 percent to more than 25 percent and in the USA, it has risen from almost 15 percent to a staggering forty percent of the population. Even though with the limited data available and prevalence of obesity was not age-standardized by WOF, the above-mentioned figures are a cause for concern.

Based on multiple types of research conducted, there have been conflicting reports suggesting causes or challenging our belief behind the increasing trend of obesity. In a study published in the ‘International journal of epidemiology' by Amy Luke and Richard S Cooper, they found that long term trends in activity have no relation to the obesity epidemic and conclude that only reduction in calorie intake in isolation or done together with physical exercise can help reduce weight, and researchers like Swinburn BA, et al in their study have held on to the traditional public health theory that ‘Changes in the global food system, including reductions in the time-cost of food, seem to be the major drivers of the rise of the global obesity epidemic during the past 3–4 decades’.

In another study conducted by Deurenberg, et al on the relationship between obesity and race, they suggested that Caucasians are different from Asians in their BMI/ body fat percent relationship. In the past, Obesity was considered to be a problem only of the high-income and developed economies, but the rising obesity rates worldwide in both developed and developing economies has given prominence to understanding the underlying causes, and accordingly devise preventive or curative measures to tackle this epidemic that is set to increase over the coming years.