Why are we so fat?

Sunday, October 11 is the first World Obesity Day with the aim to drive global efforts to prevent, reduce and treat obesity.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about two billion people worldwide are overweight.

Of those, 98 million are considered severely obese, which means they are more than 45 kilograms over their ideal body weight.

Obesity increases the chance of chronic diseases, diabetes and death, so much so that a US endocrinologist, Dr Francine Kaufman, coined the term diabesity.

Dr Shenaz Seedat, endocrinologist and senior medical advisor at Novo Nordisk South Africa said the prevalence of diabesity, both worldwide and in South Africa, is increasing at an alarming rate.

“Of particular concern is the rapid increase in prevalence amongst children and adolescents,” said Dr Seedat.

He said this is mostly because of the lifestyle changes that take place when people move to the city and exercise far less than those living in rural areas.

It is an alarming thought that every kilogram of excess weight is associated with a 9% increase in the risk of developing diabetes.

More than 13 000 South Africans died from complications related to diabetes in 2014, making it one of the top ten causes of death in South Africa.

“It goes without saying that the challenge is enormous. The good news, though, is that keeping to a healthy weight significantly reduces the risk of developing diabetes,” said Dr Seedat.

What is considered a healthy weight? Measure your body mass index here to determine if you are in the healthy bracket.

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