Incidence and Prevalence of Obesity

Abstract

Obesity is now the most prevalent form of malnutrition in the industrialized countries and is rapidly becoming highly prevalent also in developing world. Obesity is considered now as a major contributor to the global burden of disease and disability. Overweight and obesity are defined as an abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health, and can be measured with the use of the Body Mass Index (BMI). Ethnic-specific BMI cut-off points for overweight and obesity have been proposed. According to WHO database, 34.5 % of the world adults were overweight and 11 % were obese in 2008. The prevalence is higher in women than in men and varies greatly across the WHO Regions. Alarming prevalence of obesity has been observed also in children and adolescents in several countries worldwide. The prevalence of obesity has increased dramatically in the last decades in both adults and children, with evidence of possible recent stabilization in some industrialized countries. Nevertheless, the prevalence rates continue to be greater than one third of the population and the obesity epidemic is still escalating in the developing world. The problem of overweight and obesity has therefore emerged as one of the most pressing global issues that we will continue to face during the next several decades.