Obesity is a condition in which the natural energy reserve, stored in the fatty tissue of humans and other mammals, is increased to a point where it is a risk factor for certain health conditions or increased mortality. Obesity develops from the interaction of individual biology and the environment. Excessive body weight has been shown to predispose to various diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus type 2, sleep apnea, and osteoarthritis. Obesity is both an individual clinical condition and is increasingly viewed as a serious public health problem.

The effects of obesity are related not only to the amount of fat but to the distribution. Central or visceral obesity, where fat accumulates around the trunk and in the abdominal cavity, is considered to be of higher risk than diffusely distributed subcutaneous fat (Cotran, 1999).

The rate of obesity in China has increased by 97% in 10 years, according to a government report.

China's first official nutrition and health survey shows that between 1992 and 2002 more than 60 million people became obese. The biggest problem is in China's cities, where 12% of adults and 8% of children were classified as obese.

Health officials have been blaming diets too high in fat and a decrease in physical exercise. They warn that obesity is likely to increase even further. However, the study also found that levels of malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies have dropped.

Health advice needed

Results of the 2002 survey were not fully computed until this year because of the large numbers of people involved - more than 270,000 took part in the survey. It found that while China had made progress in reducing poverty its people needed advice about how to live a healthy lifestyle.

"The Chinese population does not have enough awareness and lacks knowledge of what is a reasonable nutrition and diet," AFP news agency quoted Vice Health Minister Wang Longde as saying.

Some people - especially urban residents - were eating too much meat, oils and fats and not enough cereals, he said. Parents and grandparents often fed their offspring excessively to make up for being fed inadequately themselves, he added.

A rise in car use and less physical labour were also contributing factors, the survey said. Altogether, around 200 million people are thought to be overweight, 22.8% of the population, and 60 million (7.1%) obese.

The percentage of overweight people in the cities rose to 30%, and the Beijing Morning Post published results of separate city survey indicating that in the capital the figure was as high as 60%.

Poverty link

Some obesity co-factors are resistant to the theory that the "epidemic" is a new phenomenon. In particular, a class co-factor consistently appears across many studies. Comparing net worth with BMI scores, a 2004 study found obese American subjects approximately half as wealthy as thin ones. When income differentials were factored out, the inequity persisted — thin subjects were inheriting more wealth than fat ones. A higher rate of lack of education and tendencies to rely on cheaper fast foods is seen as a reason why these results are so dissimilar. Another study finds women who married into higher status are predictably thinner than women who married into lower status.

Graphic chart comparing obesity percentages of the

total population in OECD member countries

Public health and policy - Prevalence

United Kingdom

The Health Survey for England predicts that more than 12 million adults and 1 million children will be obese by 2010 if no action is taken. The prime minister has urged people to take more responsibility for their fitness and diet.

United States

The prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States makes obesity a leading public health problem. The United States has the highest rates of obesity in the developed world. From 1980 to 2002, obesity has doubled in adults and overweight prevalence has tripled in children and adolescents. From 2003-2004, "children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 years, 17.1% were overweight...and 32.2% of adults aged 20 years or older were obese." The prevalence in the United States continues to rise. The prevalence of obesity has been continually rising for two decades. This sudden rise in obesity prevalence is attributed to environmental and population factors rather than individual behavior and biology because of the rapid and continual rise in the number of overweight and obese individuals. The current environment produces risk factors for decreased physical activity and for increased calorie consumption. These environmental factors operate on the population to decrease physical activity and increase calorie consumption.

Environmental factors

While it may often appear obvious why a certain individual gets fat, it is far more difficult to understand why the average weight of certain societies have recently been growing. While genetic causes are central to understanding obesity, they cannot fully explain why one culture grows fatter than another.

This is most notable in the United States. In the years from just after the Second World War until 1960 the average person's weight increased, but few were obese. In the two and a half decades since 1980 the growth in the rate of obesity has accelerated markedly and is increasingly becoming a public health concern.

Contemporary culture

In modern Western culture, the obese body shape is widely regarded as unattractive. Obese bodies are rarely positively represented in mainstream media. Many negative stereotypes are commonly associated with obese people, such as the belief that they are lazy, dirty, stupid, or even evil. Some point to gluttony, the second of the seven deadly sins, when referring to the this last stereotype. Obese children, teenagers and adults face a heavy social stigma. Obese children are frequently the targets of bullies and are often shunned by their peers. Obesity in adulthood can lead to a slower rate of career advancement. Most obese people have experienced negative thoughts about their body image, and many take drastic steps to try to change their shape.

Not all contemporary cultures disapprove of obesity. There are many cultures which are traditionally more approving (to varying degrees) of obesity, including some African, Arabic, Indian, and Pacific Island cultures. Especially in recent decades, obesity has come to be seen more as a medical condition in modern Western culture.

Recently emerging is a small but vocal fat acceptance movement that seeks to challenge weight-based discrimination. Obesity acceptance and advocacy groups have initiated litigation to defend the rights of obese people and to prevent their social exclusion.

LINKS and REFERENCE

• U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, 'The Practical Guide: Identification, Evaluation and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults 5 (2000) PDF

• Quetelet LAJ (1871). Antropométrie ou Mesure des Différences Facultés de l'Homme. Brussels: Musquardt.

• World Health Organization. Technical report series 894: "Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic.". Geneva: World Health Organization, 2000. PDF. ISBN 9241208945.

• Mei Z, Grummer-Strawn LM, Pietrobelli A, Goulding A, Goran MI, Dietz WH. Validity of body mass index compared with other body-composition screening indexes for the assessment of body fatness in children and adolescents. Am J Clin Nutr 2002;75:978-85. PMID 12036802.

• Romero-Corral A, Montori VM, Somers VK, Korinek J, Thomas RJ, Allison TG, Mookadam F, Lopez-Jimenez F. Association of bodyweight with total mortality and with cardiovascular events in coronary artery disease: a systematic review of cohort studies. Lancet 2006;368:666-78. PMID 16920472

• Yusuf S, Hawken S, Ounpuu S, Dans T, Avezum A, Lanas F, McQueen M, Budaj A, Pais P, Varigos J, Lisheng L, INTERHEART Study Investigators. (2004). "Effect of potentially modifiable risk factors associated with myocardial infarction in 52 countries (the INTERHEART study): case-control study.". Lancet 364: 937-52. PMID 15364185.

• Bulik CM, Wade TD, Heath AC, Martin NG, Stunkard AJ, Eaves LJ. Relating body mass index to figural stimuli: population-based normative data for Caucasians. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2001;25:1517-24. PMID 11673775.

• Flier JS (2004). "Obesity wars: molecular progress confronts an expanding epidemic". Cell 116 (2): 337-50. PMID 14744442.

• Zagorsky JL. Is Obesity as Dangerous to Your Wealth as to Your Health? Res Aging 2004;26:130-152. PDF fulltext.DOI:10.1177/0164027503258519.

• Whitmer RA, Gunderson EP, Barrett-Connor E, Quesenberry CP Jr, Yaffe K (2005). "Obesity in middle age and future risk of dementia: a 27 year longitudinal population based study". BMJ 330 (7504): 1360. PMID 15863436.

• Sørensen TI, Rissanen A, Korkeila M, Kaprio J (2005). "Intention to lose weight, weight changes, and 18-y mortality in overweight individuals without co-morbidities". PLoS Med 2 (6): e171. PMID 15971946.

• Snow V, Barry P, Fitterman N, Qaseem A, Weiss K (2005). "Pharmacologic and surgical management of obesity in primary care: a clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians". Ann Intern Med 142 (7): 525-31. PMID 15809464. Fulltext.

• Obesity Surgery Complication Rates Higher Over Time. Press Release, July 24, 2006. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. Obesity

• Powdermaker H. "An anthropological approach to the problem of obesity." In: Food and Culture: A Reader. Ed. Carole Counihan and Penny van Esterik. New York: Routledge, 1997;206. ISBN 0415917107.

• BBC England to have 13m obese by 2010 25 August 2006

• Forecasting obesity to 2010

• Guardian Society

• Ogden C, Carroll M, Curtin L, McDowell M, Tabak C, Flegal K. Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in the United States, 1999 - 2004. JAMA 2006;295:1549-1555. PMID 16595758.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Obesity Trends 1984 - 2002 Obesity.

• Morrill A, Chinn C. The obesity epidemic in the United States. J Public Health Policy 2004;25:353-366. PMID 15683071.

• Levine JA, Lanningham-Foster LM, McCrady SK, Krizan AC, Olson LR, Kane PH, Jensen MD, Clark MM (2005). "Interindividual variation in posture allocation: possible role in human obesity". Science 307 (5709): 584-6. PMID 15681386 DOI:10.1126/science.1106561.

• Lopez R (2004). "Urban sprawl and risk for being overweight or obese". Am J Public Health 94 (9): 1574-9. PMID 15333317.

• Atlantic (Subscription site)

• "A Lot Easier Said Than Done: Parents Talk About Raising Children in Today's America", Public Agenda, (2002)

• [http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2004pres/20040715.html "HHS Announces Revised Medicare Obesity Coverage Policy"

• Dannenberg AL, Burton DC, Jackson RJ. Economic and environmental costs of obesity: the impact on airlines. Am J Prev Med 2004;27:264. PMID 15450642.

• 109th U.S. Congress (2005-2006) H.R. 554: 109th U.S. Congress (2005-2006) H.R. 554: Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act of 2005

• EA Finkelstein, IC Fiebelkorn, G Wang, National medical spending attributable to overweight and obesity: how much, and who’s paying. Health Affairs, 2003. Fulltext.

• World Health Organization - Obesity pages

• Diet, Nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases (including obesity) by WHO/FAO Expert consultation (2003). Summary by GreenFacts.

• Obesity at Endotext.org

• International Task Force on Obesity

• Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University

• Australasian Society for the Study of Obesity

• Chinese concern at obesity surge 12 Oct 04

• China battles obesity

F.A.C.T. (Falsely Accused Carers and Teachers)
PO Box 3074
Cardiff CF3 3WZ
Tel: 029 2077 7499
E-mail: info@factuk.org
Website: www.factuk.org
Campaigning organisation and support group which provides help and advice to falsely accused and wrongly convicted carers and teachers throughout the UK. The website contains a range of information, leaflets, books and links.

Guidance for education staff and volunteers in schools
Website: www.lg-employers.gov.uk/conditions/education/allegations
This website has guidance on: 1) staff facing an allegation of abuse; 2) preventing 'abuse of trust' for education staff; and 3) the conduct of education staff working with young people.

LINKS and REFERENCE

• Bankston, Carl L. and Caldas, Stephen J., Family Structure, Schoolmates, and Racial Inequalities in School Achievement, Journal of Marriage and the Family 60:3 (1998), 715-723.

• Dependent Children: 1 in 4 in lone-parent families," National Statistics Online, National Statistics, United Kingdom (July 7, 2005) . Accessed at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=1163 on July 17, 2006.

• Geographic Distribution: London has most lone-parent families," National Statistics Online, National Statistics, United Kingdom (July 7, 2005). Accessed at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=1166 on July 17, 2006.

• Hilton, J., Desrochers, S.,Devall, E. Comparison of Role Demands, Relationships, and Child Functioning is Single-Mother, Single-Father, and Intact Families. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage ,35(?) 29-56.

• Mulkey, L.; Crain, R; Harrington, A.M. One-Parent Households and Achievement: Economic and Behavioral Explanations of a Small Effect. Sociology of Education, 1992, 65, 1, Jan, 48-65

• Pong, Suet-ling The School Compositional Effect of Single Parenthood on 10th Grade Achievement, Sociology of Education 71:1 (1998), 23-42.

• Quinlan, Robert J. Father absence, parental care, and female reproductive development. Evolution and Human Behavior, Volume 24, Issue 6, November 2003, Pages 376-390

• Richards, Leslie N.; Schmiege, Cynthia J. Family Relations, Vol. 42, No. 3, Family Diversity. (Jul., 1993), pp. 277-285.

• Risman, Barbara J., and Park, Kyung. (1988). Just The Two of Us: Parent-Child Relationships in Single-Parent Homes. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 1988, 50, 4, Nov, 1049.

• Sacks, G. (September 4, 2005) “Boys without fathers is not a logical new idea.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, Arkansas)

• States News Service. (2005 July 20). “America’s Children: Family Structure and Children’s Well-Being

• *Quotes taken from Neale B and Wade A (2000) 'Parent problems! Children's views on life when parents split up', Young Voice/Nuffield.

• http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/04/5.13.04/single_parents.html

• http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p60-225.pdf

• http://www.fathers-4-justice.org/index_2.htm

• http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails

• http://www.pobronson.com/factbook/pages/43.html

• http://www.hansm.org

• http://www.oneparentfamilies.org.uk/facts

• http://www.javilonesomefather.org.uk

NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR ONE PARENT FAMILIES

Registered charity no: 230750

Email web@oneparentfamilies.org.uk.

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