Overfat Adults and Children in Developed Countries: The Public Health Importance of Identifying Excess Body Fat

Abstract

The global overfat pandemic is a serious public health crisis that places a substantial burden on economic resources in developed countries. The term overfat refers to the presence of excess body fat that can impair health, even for normal weight non-obese individuals. Excess body fat is associated with cardiometabolic dysfunction, a clinical situation that can progressively worsen, potentially leading to various common disease risk factors, chronic diseases, increased morbidity and mortality, and reduced quality of life. The prevalence of overfat populations in 30 of the world’s most developed countries is substantially higher than recent global estimations, with the largest growth due to a relatively recent increased number of people with excess abdominal fat. Abdominal overfat is the most unhealthful form of this condition, so it is concerning that average waist circumference measures, generally indicative of abdominal overfat, have increased. Despite a leveling off appearance of being overweight and/or obese in some developed countries, the overfat pandemic continues to grow.

Pediatric Obesity: Influence on Drug Dosing and Therapeutics

“…The umbrella term overfat encompasses not only overweight and obese but also “metabolically obese, normal weight” (MONW) such as visceral obesity. It affects about half of children residing in 30 developed countries and as many as 69% of youth (2 to 19 years) in the United States …”

“…The umbrella term overfat encompasses not only overweight and obese but also "metabolically obese, normal weight" (MONW) such as visceral obesity. It affects about half of children residing in 30 developed countries 17 and as many as 69% of youth (2 to 19 years) in the United States. 18 Because excess body fat is associated with increased cardiometabolic risk, 18 MONW might be a factor contributing to heterogeneity among normal body weight patients recruited into metabolic research studies or in patient care settings, particularly among ethnic populations known to have low BMI values.…”

The Perfect Storm: Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic Meets Overfat Pandemic

“…Underlying conditions included diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease (including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and emphysema), hypertension, and cancer (1,5,6). Most of these underlying conditions are caused by or are associated with excess body fat (8,25).…”

“…While those ≥65 years of age were more at risk, those admitted to the ICU in the age bracket of 19-64 years also had significantly more chronic illness than those hospitalized without ICU admission (23,24). These conditions are primarily caused by excess body fat and its associated chronic inflammation (8,25). These and other analyses may be limited by relatively small numbers, missing data due to the burden placed on reporting health departments, and the rapidly rising number of cases (23,24).…”

Identifying the best methods to assess adiposity and metabolic risk in children

“…Furthermore, there is a subset of patients who have excess adiposity, despite the fact that their BMI is within the normal range. Unfortunately, BMI cannot identify those with elevated BMIs and low adiposity . Therefore, it would be helpful to find measures other than BMI that are both inexpensive and easy to carry out in clinical practice.…”