INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY
OF OBESITY
Press Release
Global obesity epidemic putting brakes
on economic development
Chronic diseases linked to obesity could
put the brakes on economic progress in many developing countries unless urgent
action is taken, experts warned at the opening of the first major international
conference on obesity in
Finance and trade ministers need to lend
their support to health ministers for strategic actions to improve the
nutritional welfare of their populations or face huge costs already in the
pipeline from an epidemic of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and other
obesity-related health concerns.
Obesity has already created a “double
burden” of disease in many parts of the developing world still struggling to
overcome a legacy of undernutrition and its metabolic
consequences for the generations that follow. Many people were now highly
susceptible to the adverse health impact of “western” diets, high in fats,
sugars and salt, leading WHO to revise its recommendations on “action points”
for overweight populations across the whole of
Professor Philip James, chair of IASO’s
International Obesity TaskForce, who is delivering the keynote address on “The
global epidemic of obesity: a challenge for developing countries” to the IASO First
Regional Congress held in Sun City, South Africa, from October 28-31, said that
countries must embrace the advantages of economic development, but take care to
protect the nutritional health of their people, particularly the younger
generation.
“Childhood
and adolescent overweight and obesity already present massive problems in this
country and in many other parts of the developing world, which are already on
the fast track to a massive explosion in type 2 diabetes. The economic burden from
this will act as a brake on development, which depends on having a healthy and
productive population,” he added.
About
60% of all deaths across the world and 47% of the burden of disease can be
attributed to non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular
diseases, osteoporosis and cancers. About two-thirds of deaths linked to these
diseases occur in the developing world. The major risk factors are poor diet
and physical inactivity, and associated obesity.
Professor James said that 191 ministers had agreed at the
World Health Assembly in
On
“The obesity crisis - particularly among women - has been
overlooked for too long. The peak levels of obesity in the
The South Africa Demographic and Health Survey undertaken in
1998, undergoing revision and due to be published next year, found high rates
of overweight and obesity with 29% of men and 56% of women overweight,
including 9% of men and 29% of women obese. The percentage with a BMI>30
reaches 46% in women between the age of 45-64.
The survey concluded: "Overall, these data suggest that
the predominant pattern of malnutrition in adult South Africans, particularly
in African and coloured women, is one of over nutrition, with remarkably high
rates of obesity."
More recent data published in the South African Youth Risk
Assessment Survey 2002 by the South African Medical Research Council show the
prevalence of overweight (including obesity) among young people aged 13-19
years to be 17% overall affecting more girls (25%) than boys (7%). Prevalence
was highest (over 20% for boys and girls combined) in white and Indian population
groups. Another key factor revealed in
the 1999 National
Food Consumption Survey was that one in five children under the age
of 9 had suffered from stunting, related to chronic undernutrition
early in life, and ironically, the problem was worst among small children
raised on commercial farms. These children may be particularly vulnerable to
developing abdominal obesity with energy-dense western diets.
The IASO conference is also addressing for the first time the
medical management issues of weight control for those with HIV/AIDS undergoing
long-term anti-retroviral treatment which can lead to overweight, obesity and
type 2 diabetes.
The conference will be formally opened by Dr Elamin
Mohamed, Director for Chronic Diseases, Disabilities and Geriatrics, of the
South African Government’s Department of Health, and Professor
On Thursday 28 October 2004 - A
pre-Congress media briefing will be provided for journalists attending the
meeting from 13h30 – 14h30 in
the Lynx Room at the Sun City
Conference Centre, chaired by Professor Tessa van der Merwe.
Or contact:
Kalpa Kara
Media Department
International Association for the Study of Obesity
Tel 44 2076911900
Email: media@iaso.org
Further
background:
The
IOTF estimates around 1.1 billion adults are overweight (BMI>25)
including more than 300 million who are obese (BMI>30). Taking
account of special risk factors among Asians, the number of adults exposed to
weight-related health risks has been estimated to be up to 1.7 billion.
World
Health Organization experts have examined risk factors among Asian populations
recommending an “action point” set at BMI>23 which reflects a
heightened susceptibility to having a higher proportion of body fat at a lower
body mass index, with consequently amplified metabolic risks.
Childhood
overweight affects around 155 million school-age children, including around 40
million who are obese. One in 10 children is
overweight, but the figure rises to one in three in North and South American
combined.
See also International Food Policy Research Institute Forum: The Changing Face of Malnutrition October
2004 http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/newsletters/ifpriforum/if200410.htm