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Posted on by Glenda Van Blerk

Higher Body Weight Awareness

By Tamzyn Murphy RD, MSc

Judging people based on higher body weight awareness is misinformed and skin deep because higher body weight is not a matter of aesthetics. Rather, it’s concerning as an indicator of what’s happening deep beneath the surface; to our metabolic health. Metabolic health is based on blood levels of triglycerides (fats), glucose (sugar), HDL cholesterol, and blood pressure, as well as fat accumulation in and around the organs (i.e. belly fat) – all of which are risk factors for some of the biggest killers: heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. 

80% of higher body weight people are metabolically unhealthy, as are 40% of normal-weight individuals (1). This shows that a higher bodyweight is not the cause of chronic lifestyle-related disease, but it is an indicator in many people.

Despite dietary guidelines – calling for less dietary fat, cholesterol, and salt; and more carbs, whole grains, and vegetables – and consequent dietary changes over the past 40 years, populations across the globe have gotten fatter and sicker, and at progressively younger ages. Today, around two-thirds of many populations across the globe (including Africa, the Americas, the Asian Pacific, Europe, and the United Kingdom) are higher body weight people. Women are generally heavier than men, with as much as 60-70% of women being heavier in some regions (e.g. South Africa and some Oceania islands). Clearly higher body weight is pervasive and indicative of serious health problems in the majority of our populations, requiring urgent attention.

The good news is that worsening health and rising heavy body weight rates don’t have to continue. National Obesity Week is all about improving higher body weight awareness. So let’s get started.

REFERENCES:

  1. Lustig RH. Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, and Disease. [Internet]. Avery; 2013 [cited 2023 Jan 12]. Available from: https://www.amazon.com/Fat-Chance-Beating-Against-Processed/dp/0142180432
  2. Nicolle L. Almost 60% of adults in Europe are heavier [Internet]. Geriatric Medicine Journal. 2022 [cited 2023 Jan 12]. Available from: https://www.gmjournal.co.uk/almost-60-of-europe-s-adult-population-is-heavier-finds-new-report
  3. Is your waistline killing you? [Internet]. Western Cape Government. [cited 2023 Jan 12]. Available from: https://www.westerncape.gov.za/general-publication/is-your-waistline-killing-you
  4. How Fat is America? An Overview Statistics (2022) – Livin3 [Internet]. Livin3 | Science-Backed Health, Fitness & Wellness. 2021 [cited 2023 Jan 12]. Available from: https://www.livin3.com/statistics

CREDITS:

Image – Priscilla Du Preez

Text – Tamzyn Murphy, RD, MSc