Trends in Overweight and Obesity
International Trends in Obesity
Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, with more than 1 billion adults overweight - at least 300 million of them clinically obese - and is a major contributor to the global burden of chronic disease and disability. Often coexisting in developing countries with under-nutrition, obesity is a complex condition, with serious social and psychological dimensions, affecting virtually all ages and socioeconomic groups.
Over the last twenty years there has been a significant increase in obesity. In the attached diagram of the United States of America, the graphics show that rates there have increased from some states not even recording rates, to some states having 30% of the population with a BMI of 30 or above.
A research study published in the International Journal of Obesity (2004) examined the relationship between trends in food energy supply and body mass index (BMI) among several countries and they concluded that increasing supply is closely associated with the increase of overweight and obesity in western countries.
National Trends in Obesity
About 46% of men in England and 32% of women are overweight and an additional 17% of men and 21% of women are obese.
Overweight and obesity increase with age. About 28% of men and 27% of women aged 16-24 are overweight or obese but 76% of men and 68% of women aged 55-64 are overweight or obese.
Overweight and obesity are increasing in the UK. The percentage of adults who are obese has roughly doubled since the