Obesity - the health facts

Obesity is the health issue on the tip of everybody's tongue, not only because it is on the increase, with over half the UK population being obese or overweight, but because it poses many risks for our well-being. We look at the most recent research and give the bare facts on why the nation is getting fatter

According to the latest report published by the Food Standards Agency and the Department of Health in February 2004, a quarter of men and one-fifth of women are obese, in addition 41 per cent of men and 33 per cent of women are overweight.

A February 2004 report by the Royal College of Physicians, the Faculty of Public Health and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has come up with some shocking findings about obesity in the next generation. Obesity in two to four year olds has almost doubled from five to nine per cent. This figure has trebled in six to 15 year olds. If these trends continue, they estimate, at the very least, one-third of adults will be obese by 2020 - one-fifth of boys and one-third of girls.

Obesity is defined by the Body Mass Index (BMI) (the weight in kgs divided by height in square metres). Obesity is a BMI reading of over 30. It is when excess body fat is at such a level that it poses an adverse health risk. An overweight measurement falls between a BMI of 25 and 29.9.

These days sedentary attitudes are more common - a couch potato and computer-screen lifestyle. According the Faculty of Public Health, the UK's school children get the lowest amount of physical activity in Europe.

Many people have difficulty maintaining a healthy weight due to specific medical conditions. Common culprits include under-active thyroid hypothyroidism, causing a drastic slump in metabolism or polycystic ovarian disease (PCOS) where imbalances in hormones increase insulin levels, which can lead to weight gain.