INFORMATION RESOURCES ON OBESITY

< Themes | National policy >

Theme sections

• National policy context
• Regional context and action plans
• National Childhood Measurement Programme
• Obesity in the East Midlands
• Interactive mapping
• Sources of data
• Guidance and advice resources
• Other relevant website and resources

Introduction

The clinical definition of obesity in adults is based on Body Mass Index (BMI) which is defined as body mass (kgs) / height2 (m) in adults. Persons with a BMI >25 are considered to be overweight and those with a BMI >30 are considered obese. Worldwide, approximately 58% of type-two diabetes, 21% of heart disease and between 8-42% of certain cancers is linked to an excess of body fat¹. Relative risk of death is also increased in those whose BMI is above the normal range².

Quite simply obesity occurs due to an energy imbalance where energy taken in outweighs energy expended through activity. However, many more factors have been found to play a role in what has been described as an ‘obesity epidemic’. The report, Storing up Problems: The medical case for a slimmer nation³, cites a range of economic, environmental, social and cultural factors (called the obesogenic environment) that can influence a persons lifestyle and may influence this epidemic rise in obesity levels. These factors include: more sedentary jobs, more screen based entertainment, increased car use, more processed foods being consumed, reduced access to physical activity and healthy eating for low income earners and more meals being consumed outside the home.

Rates of obesity in England have trebled in the past 20 years and they are still on the increase. Obesity levels in both males and females have increased by over 1% since 2003, such that 24% of females and 23% of males are now classified as obese⁴. The rise in obesity levels in children is also a growing concern. Between 1995 and 2005 the level of obese children (2-15) rose from 11.5% to 18.3%, while levels of overweight children rose from 24.5% to 32.6% for the same period. A reduction in these levels has been reported in the Health Survey for England 20064, falling to 16% of this age group classified as obese and 29.7% classified as overweight/obese. The emergence of type-two diabetes in this age group is also cause for concern as this condition was generally seen in older age groups. The Department of Health has issued a report Forecasting Obesity to 2010⁵ where it estimates that 33% of men and 28% of women will be obese at this time.

The Health Committee Report of 2002¹ estimated the total cost of obesity to the UK as somewhere between £3.3-3.7 billion. This accounted for direct costs of treating obesity (£46-49 million); costs for treating the consequences of obesity (£945-1,075 million); indirect costs for premature mortality (£1-1.1 billion) and the cost of sickness absence (£1.3-1.45 billion). These numbers are still felt to be an under-estimate of the true cost of obesity to the state.

Tackling Obesities: Future Choices⁶, produced by the UK Government’s Foresight Programme presents key messages and implications for the UK. These are based on an extensive analysis of a wide range of evidence, including several commissioned evidence reviews, a systems analysis of the primary determinants of obesity, scenarios of possible futures and a quantitative model of future trends in obesity and associated diseases.

Obesity at a glance

ENGLAND (2006)

EAST MIDLANDS (2006)

• Levels of adult obesity are higher in the East Midlands than the national average and this has been a consistent trend in recent years.
• Men and women were equally likely to be obese in the East Midlands. However women were more likely than men to be morbidly obese.
• Nationally, the Black African ethnic group had the highest prevalence rates for females (38%) and the Black Caribbean and the Irish ethnic groups (25%) had the highest rates for males.
• Nationally there has been a decrease in child obesity levels (18.3% in 2004), but within the East Midlands levels have actually increased from 17% in this same year.
• Deprivation was seen to be a risk factor for obesity for those aged 8-15 nationally. Boys that were classed in the most deprived quintile were three times more likely to be obese than those in the least deprived quintile. This association was not observed for girls.

References

1. Department of Health (2003). Obesity: Defusing the Health Time Bomb. In Health Check: CMO Annual Report 2002. London
2.  EMPHO (2004). Profile of Obesity in the East Midlands.
3. Working Party of the Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of Paediatrics, and the Faculty of Public Health Medicine (2004). Storing up Problems: The Medical Case for a Slimmer Nation. London.[http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/pubs/brochure.aspx?e=154]
4. The Information Centre (2008). Health Survey for England 2006: CVD and risk factors adults, obesity and risk factors children. [http://www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/health-and-lifestyles-related-surveys/health-survey-for-england/health-survey-for-england-2006:-cvd-and-risk-factors-adults-obesity-and-risk-factors-children]
5. Department of Health (2006). Forecasting Obesity to 2010 [http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsStatistics/DH_4138630]
6. Dr Bryony Butland, Dr Susan Jebb, Prof Peter Kopelman et al. (2007) Tackling Obesities: Future Choices –
   Project report, Foresight. [http://www.bis.gov.uk/foresight/our-work/projects/published-projects/tackling-obesities]

< Themes | National policy >

PAGE CREATED: 1 April 2007 | PAGE REVISED: 7 July 2009