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Overweight and obese children are more likely to stay obese into adulthood and to develop noncommunicable diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases at a younger age According to the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation report, in 2015 a total of 107.7 million children (5%) and 603.7 million adults (12%) were obese worldwide. In this study of 68.5 million people from 195 countries, investigators analysed the trends between high BMI and burden of disease by age, sex and cause among children and adults between 1990 and 2015. In adults, the prevalence of obesity was generally higher among women than men in all age brackets and the peak in the prevalence of obesity between the ages of 60 and 64 years among women and 50 and 54 years among men. No sex differences were observed in obesity prevalence before the age of 20 years. While at all sociodemographic index levels and for all age groups, the prevalence of obesity was generally higher for women than for men, with the highest prevalence among women between the ages of 60 to 64 years living in countries with a high sociodemographic index. In general, the prevalence of obesity among both women and men increased with the increase in the sociodemographic index across all age groups. Among children, the prevalence of obesity was greater in countries with higher sociodemographic index levels. Since 1980, the prevalence of obesity has doubled in more than 70 countries and has continuously increased in most other countries; only the Democratic Republic
Measuring your Waist Your risk of some health problems is affected by where your body fat is stored, as well as by your weight. Carrying too much fat around your middle (waist) can increase your risk of developing conditions such as: -heart disease -type 2 diabetes -cancer Measuring your waist is a good way to check you’re not carrying too much fat around your stomach. You can have a healthy BMI and still have excess tummy fat – meaning you’re still at risk of developing the mentioned diseases. To measure your waist: - find the bottom of your ribs and the top of your hips - wrap a tape measure around your waist, midway between these points - breathe out naturally before taking the measurement Regardless of your height or BMI, you should try to lose weight if your waist is: -94cm (37ins) or more for men -80cm (31.5ins) or more for women You are at very high risk and you should contact your doctor if your waist is: -102cm (40ins) or more for men -88cm (34ins) or more for women Source: NHS Choices http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/849.aspx?CategoryID=51&SubCategoryID=165
Infomedix International | 3 2017
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