Illnesses+caused+by+unbalanced+diets,+obesity

The obesity epidemic
==You may have found it quite surprising that so many countries suffer from all three types of malnutrition measured – stunting of children under 5 due to insufficient food, anaemia in women due to lack of iron in the diet and overweight in adults.== ==Here we’ll concentrate on adults who are overweight. In January 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a [|series of key facts] on obesity:== ==You may have noticed that the WHO puts the number of people worldwide who are obese or overweight, at an even higher level than the International Food Policy Research Institute’s report published the previous year.== ==The health consequences of obesity and being overweight are significant. People who are overweight are more likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks and strokes, from diabetes, from osteoarthritis and other diseases of the muscles and joints, and from some cancers. Children who are obese are more likely to suffer from breathing difficulties, their risk of fractures is greater and they may also show early signs of high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. There are also psychological effects. Overweight children are likely to suffer from low self-esteem and depression, and to be bullied by their peers. Additionally, of course, they are more likely to become obese adults.==
 * ==//worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1980//==
 * ==//in 2014, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight – of these, over 600 million were obese//==
 * ==//39% of adults aged 18 years and over were overweight in 2014, and 13% were obese//==
 * ==//most of the world’s population live in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight//==
 * ==//42 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2013//==
 * ==//obesity is preventable.//==

Overweight and obese are defined as the abnormal or excessive accumulation of fat that may impair health. The measure of whether someone is of normal weight, over- or under-weight, is conventionally obtained by calculating their Body Mass Index (BMI). This takes into account their height as well as their body mass (weight). It is calculated by BMI = weight in kg/(height in m)2 Then the result is compared with a table like this one: However, there are problems with using a simple calculation like this. First of all, these values were only ever designed to be appropriate for adults. There are separate height/weight charts for children. These values are also not appropriate for all adults – many rugby players and shot putters would come out as obese even though they probably carry very little body fat. A BMI above the healthy range puts most people at risk of adverse health consequences – increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and type 2 diabetes – but it appears that some population groups are more susceptible to these health problems than others. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the UK has issued additional BMI advice to south Asian and Chinese ethnic groups, who appear to have a higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes than white populations. They are advised to keep their BMI below the standard value of 25. The evidence is less clear cut for black ethnic groups, but again, keeping a BMI below 25 is recommended. You might like to calculate your own BMI and compare it with the table above. (Don’t worry, you don’t have to share it with others!) In 2013, an alternative formula for calculating BMI was proposed, by mathematician Professor Nick Trefethen, of Oxford University, based on mathematical analysis of the physics and mechanics of how bodies grow. His suggestion is that the equation should be Alternative BMI = weight in kg × 1.3/(height in m)2.5 This change would mean that some tall adults previously considered overweight would now be within the normal range, and some short adults, previously within the normal range, would now be considered to be overweight. You might like to try calculating your BMI using this alternative measure, though the maths is slightly more complicated.
 * **Body mass index** || **Classification** ||
 * less than 18.5 || underweight ||
 * 18.5–25 || desirable or healthy weight ||
 * 25–30 || overweight ||
 * 30–40 || obese ||
 * over 40 || morbidly or severely obese ||