'Quarter obese' worldwide
About a quarter of men and women are obese worldwide
Also In The News
|
K7, out now. |  |
Tuesday, 23, Oct 2007 04:15
About a quarter of men and women worldwide are obese, a new global study has revealed.
Primary care physicians studied 168,159 people (69,409 men, 98,750 women) from 18- to 80-years-old in 63 countries across five continents on one day.
Age, gender, presence of heart disease or diabetes and waist circumference were measured in the participants, who were drawn from both urban and rural areas.
The results, published in the journal Circulation, showed that 40 per cent of men and 30 per cent of women are overweight while 24 per cent of men and 27 per cent of women are obese.
Obesity increases the risk of type two diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon).
This in turn places a huge burden on global health systems; in the UK it is estimated that obesity costs the NHS £1 billion each year.
Dr Beverly Balkau, the study's lead author, said the results showed excess body weight is "pandemic" worldwide, with about one-half to two-thirds of the study's participants being overweight or obese.
She added that governments need to take more preventative measures to halt the numbers of overweight and obese people.
"Physical activity and good nutrition are the key," Dr Balkau said. "A change is needed or the public health situation for heart disease and diabetes will become worse."