Register here!

Sign up to our newsletter
Obesity

Obesity is a condition of excessive fat in the body, and can be measured with the body mass index (BMI). The BMI is body weight in kilograms divided by the square of a person's height in meters. The normal BMI of adults is 18.5 to 24.9. A BMI of 25 and above is overweight. Obesity is defined by a BMI over 30, according to the WHO.

Thomas Oswald from the Czech Republic: gastric banding helped him to loose 70 kilos
Basically, I was imprisoned at home because I weighed 70 kilos more than I weigh now. I could only walk very short distances and I got tired very quickly. I couldn't participate in social activities. I was living a kind of partial life, prior to the operation. I couldn't go out, that was the first thing, and the second thing was my inability to live a normal life, because the pain in my back and in my knees was so bad that I was unable to move. Click here to see the whole story of Thomas Oswald.

 Top of the page 

Facts & figures on obesity
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.

 Top of the page 

Causes of obesity
The causes of obesity are mostly attributed to an unhealthy diet (a too high proportion of fat and sugar) as well as a lack of physical activity. It is worth noting that studies have shown that areas with socially deprived people have higher obesity rates than rich areas. People in financially disadvantaged circumstances have less access to sports facilities and often live in areas that do not encourage physical activity or do not have sports facilities. In addition, in many countries healthy food tends to be more expensive. As such, it has been suggested that the risk of developing obesity is closely linked to the social and economic status of a person. Countries with the greatest inequalities between rich and poor tend to have the highest level of obesity. 

 Top of the page 

Associated diseases
Obese people are more likely to develop certain diseases including bone and joint disorders, diabetes type II, coronary heart diseases, certain types of cancer, as well as psychological problems. As a result, obese people have a lower life expectancy.

 Top of the page 

Cost of obesity
Obesity not only affects the individual, but has economic implications for the whole of society. About 6% of health costs in the WHO European region are spent on obesity and other diseases stemming from obesity. In addition, there are a number of indirect costs. Obese people are more susceptible to ill-health and more likely to be absent from work/school, leading to a loss of productivity.

   Top of the page 

Innovative treatments
In many cases obesity can easily be prevented and treated. A healthy diet and regular physical activity are effective ways of countering obesity. For some people however these measures are ineffective. In these cases, a surgical procedure is needed, i.e. a gastrointestinal operation that reduces the amount of food people can eat by reducing the size of the stomach. There are three possible operations: 

  1. Adjustable gastric banding: a hollow band is placed over the upper part of the stomach, thus creating a small bag. A narrow tunnel connects this "pouch" to the rest of the stomach. In this way the feeling of fullness is prolonged.
  2. Vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG): a small stomach pouch is created by vertically stapling the upper stomach. Similar to adjustable gastric banding, a vertical banded gastroplasty limits the amount of food the stomach can hold at one time. To lower the risk of food passing from the pouch to the rest of the stomach via the staples, a variation of the standard VBG procedure is used whereby the stomach is cut around the series of staples. 
  3. Gastric bypass procedure: this procedure combines both restrictive and malabsorbent methods to achieve the desired weight loss. The operation is divided into two steps. During the first phase, an operation is carried out to reduce the size of the stomach by creating a pouch that will hold the food. In the second phase, the surgeon connects a section of the small intestine to the pouch. When food enters the digestive system, it travels from the pouch through the newly created connection and bypasses the lower, bigger stomach. The bottom of the newly created channel is fixed to the bottom of the stomach. Part of the stomach and small intestines are thus "bypassed".

 Top of the page 

Related reports and documents

 Top of the page 

For more information on obesity, please visit:

European Commission

World Health Organisation

United Nations

Other links

 Top of the page