Facts & figures on obesity

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Obesity is one the major health challenges worldwide and has become an epidemic over the last decades. Europe has the highest number of overweight and obese people in the world. The number of obese people has in fact tripled over the last 20 years in the Europe, according to the WHO. Today, over 130 million people are obese in Europe; approximately 10%-20% of men and 15%-25% of women. In addition, 400 million people are overweight in Europe. Obesity does not only affect adults, but also children and adolescents. It is the most common health disorder amongst young people in Europe. Today, about 20% of children in Europe are overweight, and a third of these are obese. Obese children are more likely to remain obese as adults. The number of obese and overweight people is expected to increase in the future. According to the WHO, there will be about 150 million obese adults and 15 million obese children and adolescents in the European WHO region in 2010.

Lifestyle choices

Lifestyle choices are an important factor in influencing your weight. Eating more calories than you need may be down to poor food choices - for example, eating high fat, processed, or fast food - rather than filling up on fruit, vegetables and unrefined carbohydrates, such as wholemeal bread and brown rice. Alcohol also contains a lot of calories, and heavy drinkers are often overweight.

Bad eating habits also tend to run in families - rather than inheriting a slow metabolism, the habits learned from your parents can be an important factor. Childhood obesity is a strong indicator of weight-related health problems in later life, showing that learned unhealthy lifestyle choices continue into adulthood.