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Obesity and Comorbidities
Obesity Facts
In 2005, the World Health Organization estimated that 1.6 billion people aged 15 and over were overweight (BMI 25-29) and at least 400 million were obese (BMI >30)1 It predicted that, by 2015, approximately 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and more than 700 million will be obese2.
In Europe, 10-20% of men and 15-25% of women are obese and over half of the adult population is overweight or obese (BMI > 25)3. In the USA, approximately two-thirds of the population is overweight, with half of these obese4. About one in four US adults, or over 50 million people, is obese4. In Canada, 59% of adults are overweight and 23% are obese5.
Obesity is a chronic disease that is complex, multi-factorial, and develops from the interaction between genotype and the environment. While there is not a complete understanding of how and why obesity occurs, it is known to involve the integration of social, behavioural, cultural, physiological, metabolic, and genetic factors6.
Obesity & Comorbidities References:
1. Mathus-Vliegen EM, Tytgat GN. Intragastric balloon for treatment-resistant obesity: safety, tolerance, and efficacy of 1-year balloon treatment followed by a 1-year balloon-free follow-up. Gastrointest Endosc. 2005;61:19-27 9.2. World Health Organisation. Factsheet No 311, Overweight and Obesity, September 2006. Accessable at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/index.html
3. Fried M, Hainer V, Basdevant A et al. Inter-disciplinary European guidelines on surgery of severe obesity. International Journal of Obesity 2007; 31: 569-577
4. Buchwald H. Consensus Conference Statement. Bariatric surgery for morbid obesity: Health implications for patients, health professionals, and third-party payers. Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases 2005; 1: 371-381
5. Lau DCW for the Obesity Canada Clinical Practice Guidelines Steering Committee and Expert Panel. Synopsis of the 2006 Canadian clinical practice guidelines on the management and prevention of obesity in adults and children. Canadian Medical Association Journal 2007; 176; 1103-1106
6. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Web site. The practical guide: identification, evaluation, and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults. Available at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/prctgd_c.pdf. Accessed March 29, 2007.
7. Dixon JB, O’Brien PE. Health outcomes of severely obese type 2 diabetic subjects 1 year after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. Diabetes Care. 2002;25:2:358-363.
8. Obesity in the U.S. American Obesity Assocation. http://www.obesity.org/subs/fastfacts/obesity_US.shtml.
9. Sugerman HJ. The pathophysiology of severe obesity and the effects of surgically induced weight loss. Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases. 2005;109-119.