Three out of 10 persons in Western Visayas are obese based on records covering 1998 to 2011, thus the National Nutrition Council 6 (NNC-6) has made obesity prevention one of its main thrusts.

NNC-6 coordinator Nona Tad-y said this can’t be ignored because health problems caused by obesity are common in both women and men.

A World Health Organization (WHO) record showed that more than 1.4 billion adults, aged 20 and older, are overweight. Of these overweight adults, over 200 million are men and nearly 300 million are women. Overall, more than one in 10 of the world’s adult population are obese.

“Mataas na gid ini nga trend and we need to find solutions,” said Tad-y during the Nutrition Congress 2012 held at Punta Villa Resort, Iloilo City yesterday.

Being overweight and obese means one has abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health.

WHO has a Body mass index (BMI) that is commonly used to classify being overweight and being obese in adults. The formula is: a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of his/her height in meters (kg/m2).

So, if the BMI is greater than or equal to 25, a person is overweight; whereas a BMI greater than or equal to 30 signifies obesity.

WHO said being overweight and being obese are the fifth leading causes of deaths globally with at least 2.8 million adults dying each year.

In addition, 44% of diabetes burden, 23% of ischaemic heart and between 7% and 41% of certain cancers are attributed to being overweight or being obese.

Tad-y said the common health problems of overweight and obese people are cardiovascular diseases like heart disease and stroke that can lead to death. Other diseases are diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders, and cancers of the breast and colon.

She added that obese children experience difficulty in breathing and have increased risk of fractures, hypertension, early markers of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and psychological problems.

Tad-y said the main cause of obesity and being overweight is an energy imbalance between calories consumed and calories spent.

The other causes, according to WHO, are increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat, salt and sugars but low in vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients; and decrease in physical activity due to the increasingly sedentary nature of many jobs, changing modes of transportation and increasing urbanization.

“That’s why we need to eat a balance diet and do regular exercise,” she ended.*