The Epidemiology of Obesity

Abstract

Obesity has received considerable attention as a major health hazard because of the increase in the prevalence of obesity not only in the United States but also in several other countries worldwide. Obesity is caused by an interaction of environmental factors, genetic predisposition, and human behavior, and is associated with an increased risk of numerous chronic diseases, from diabetes and cancers to many digestive diseases. The obesity epidemic exerts a heavy toll on the economy with its massive health care costs. This article describes some of the epidemiologic features of obesity, including global prevalence, secular trends, risk factors, and burden of illness related to obesity with special emphasis on obesity trends in the United States.

Weight loss is associated with improvements in cognitive function among overweight and obese people: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The prevalence of overweight and obesity is high and increasing in all age groups, including the elderly (Nguyen and El-Serag, 2010;WHO consultation, 2000). Several medical complications are associated with excessive adiposity, including type 2 diabetes (Chan et al, 1994), cardiovascular diseases (Eckel, 1997), cancer (Renehan, Nature Review Cancer 2015), cognitive impairment (Xu et al, 2011), and premature mortality (Fontana and Hu, 2014;Ng et al, 2014).…”

The Crisis of Obesity

“…A similar national reference standard exists for the US, and this US BMI reference is based on nationally representative data gathered from all US children aged between two and 20 years, and collected between 1963 and 1980 [19,20]. Further, there are also presently two international BMI references which can be used to define overweight and obesity for children and adolescents: the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) reference and the WHO standard [9,21].…”

“…The global epidemic of obesity imposes large financial burdens on national economies, due to the increased risk of the costly chronic illnesses associated with obesity and of the consequent increased healthcare requirements [21]. Overweight and obesity involve societal costs which are frequently classified into two distinct categories: direct and indirect costs.…”

Riesgo cardiovascular según circunferencia abdominal en peruanos

“…Uno de los factores de riesgo cardiovasculares es la obesidad, fundamentalmente la obesidad abdominal porque favorece la producción de alteraciones metabólicas que aumentan el riesgo. La obesidad tiene un origen multicausal, e influyen los factores ambientales, genéticos y personales (2) . La Organización Mundial de la Salud señala que más de 1 900 millones de adultos tienen sobrepeso y 600 millones son obesos, precisando que en el 2014, el 13% de los adultos tenía obesidad (3) .…”