L431 Public Health

Figure 1: Prevalence of obesity in adults

Obesity and overweight are the two most common terms that are referred to accumulation of excessive body fat and it relates to having an increased weight which is more than the height. Body Mass Index (BMI) is the most common method of quantifying obesity. Among the adults, a BMI measure of 25 to 29kg/m² is considered as overweight. While a score of 30kg/m² or more is considered as obese.

Figure 2: Prevalence of obesity in both male and females in terms of their age

The graph shows that the incidence of obesity is most on the females and the males around the age of 55-64. However, the least is among the adults and the older people. The inference that can be drawn is that as the age increases both due to life style change, work life and depression increases the tendency of obesity among both the genders.

Figure 3: the graphs shows the incidence of obesity and overweight both in the reception year and year 6 children

The reception year shows 1% difference in the obese and overweight children which does not provide must variance. However, in the year 6 (2017) the incidence of obesity in the children is 3% more in comparison to the year 2006/07.

Figure 4: Graph shows the effect of obesity due to physical activity

The graph shows that the more active an individual is, the less is the incidence of obesity. The adults aged around 16-24 are found to be most physically active, thus obesity is less. However, along with the increased age, the reduced mobility and lack of physical activity results in the more obsessive tendencies.

Reference: Data.gov.uk (2017). Statistics on Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet, England - Datasets. [online] Data.gov.uk. Available at: https://data.gov.uk/dataset/statistics_on_obesity_physical_activity_and_diet_england [Accessed 16 Dec. 2017].

Part B

Obesity is one of the most ubiquitous and chronic disease that need innovative strategies and strategies to prevent and manage the incidence of obesity. Obesity is the major cause of disability, morbidity, mortality, healthcare costs and healthcare utilization in United Sates. The high occurrence of obesity plagues United and world over. Obesity and is the excess deposition of fat in the subcutaneous layer of the skin. Obesity as defined by the environmental and genetic factors which impose difficulty in its control during dieting. Obesity can be quantified through a scale called BMI or the Body Mass Index. A person having a BMI of 30 and above are called obese. Obesity increases the incidence of other diseases that are not good for the body, such as hypertension, diabetes and sleep apnea, cardio vascular diseases. The individuals that are affected from the diseases are mostly unaware of it (Bagchi and Preuss 2012).

According to the WHO recent data, the worldwide occurrence of obesity has increased by three times since the year 1975. In the year 2016, data shows that 1.9 billion of the adults who are 18 years and above were overweight and among them 650 million people are found to be obese. Thirty-nine percent of the adults who are aged 18 years and more are found to be overweight in the year 2016, while thirteen percent were found to be obese. The world’s population reside in the countries where obesity and over weight is the reason of more deaths than people who are underweight. In the year 2016, 41 million children below 5 years of age were found to be either overweight or obese. The age group of 5-19 were found to be obese and overweigh tin the year 2016 and the number is around 340 million (Who.int, 2017).

Although, the terms overweight and obese are sometimes used alternatively. However, these terms carry their own meaning. The term overweight is used by the doctors to define a person’s weight that is 10-20% more than the normal as per guideline in the standard weight/height chart, or a BMI score of 25 to 30. On the other hand, obesity is defined as person health condition in which a person’s weight is 20% and more above normal and the BMI score is 30 or high. A term Morbid obesity is also used to define a person’s obese condition in which the person’s weigh tis 50-100% more than the normal body weight. In terms of weight, a morbid obese person is 100 pounds above the normal body weight. In the morbid obese condition, the health condition of the person gets severely compromised because this obesity interferes with the normal functioning of the body (Who.int, 2017). Overweigh and obesity for the different age groups is different. Like the measure of obesity in children will not be suitable for the adults and likewise will not suitable for the older people. For the children who are under 5 years of age, obesity is defined as when weight for height is more than three standard deviations. For the children belonging to the age group of 5 to 19 years, obesity is defined as when the weigh to height ratio is greater than the two standard deviations. The obesity in the adults is quantified as a BMI score more than or equal to 30 (Cole and Lobstein 2012).

According to the recent studies by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, UK is found to have the highest occurrence of obesity in among the Western Europe. The health report states that, 27% of the UK population exhibits a BMI of 30 and more. The report also highlights that the incidence of obesity in UK has increased by 92% when compared to the year of 1990. This specifically signifies that UK is facing a serious health challenge. Statistics from the Health Survey for England, shows that among the adults a BMI score of 25 to 30kg/m² signifies that the person is an overweight. While a BMI score of 30Kg/m² signifies an adult is obese. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) uses both the BMI and waist circumference for the measurement of a person’s obesity and overweight. The obesity in the adults when compared over time from the year 1993 to 2015 reveals that the obesity has increased from 15% to 27% (Flegal et al. 2012). However, the occurrence of morbid obesity has increased three times since the year 1993. The prevalence of morbid obesity is found in around 2% of the male population and is around 4% of the female population in the year 2015. In terms of gender comparison, 68% of male population are more obese that the 58% of the female population. The trends of obesity are most prevalent in the North East, North West and western highlands of England. However, in the South West England the incidence of obesity is comparatively less. Considering the prevalence of obesity by age and gender of the population, the high proneness to obesity is found in the age group of 55-64 aged male and female population (WHO 2017).

The survey report also cited the reasons of obesity among the adults. Hypertension is seen to be very prominent and common within the adults that are affected by the obesity. The incidence of hypertension is found to be in 43% and 37% of obese men and women respectively. While, hypertension is also found in 21% and 18% of the healthy and men and women respectively. Also, the occurrence of diabetes is found commonly among the adults with desirable and high waist circumference and it was around 2% and 11% respectively. The prevalence of obesity is also commonly found in children aged 4-5 (reception year) and 10-11 (year 6). In the reception year, 1 among 5 children were found to be obese, while in the year 2015/16, 9% of the children were found to be obsessive. In the year 6, 1 among 3 children are found to be obsessive and in the year 2015/16 the children were 20% obese. One major highlighting fact that has been found from the survey is that children who live in the deprived areas are more likely to become obsessive than the children who reside in the least deprived areas. In the reception year, 13% of the children residing in the most deprived areas were found to be more obese than the 5% of the children living in the least deprived areas (Data.gov.uk, 2017). In the year 6, it is found that 26% of the children that are residing in the most deprived areas are found to be obese in comparison to the 12% of the children that are residing in the least deprived areas. The prevalence of obesity in the children who are school goers and are residing in the least deprived areas have elevated over time. In the reception year, the prevalence of obesity rates is found to be 7% and 15% for the Chinese children and the Black British children. In the Black British children 29% were found to be obsessive. While, the prevalence of obesity rates is 17% and 29% for the Chinese children and black British children. In the year 6 the 45% of the Black British children were found to be obsessive. According to the survey, the parents of the obese children has a wrong perception that their children were having the right weight. 48% of the mothers were having the perception that their child was having the right weight, while the remaining 51% said that their child were overweight. 43% of the fathers said that their child was having the right weight. While, 56% of the fathers said their children were overweight (Data.gov.uk, 2017).

The survey also highlighted the body image among the 15-year-old children. 46% of the girls around the age of 15 years said that they were too fat as in comparison to the 23% of the boys. 34% of the children who were aged 15 revealed that they were bullied for being fat. The prevalence of obesity among the people of various age groups can be attributed to the adults who were aged 16 and more. It is reported that 26% of the adults were found to be inactive (these are the adults that had less than 30 minutes of physical activity in a week), whereas 61% of the adults were found to be active (150 minutes and more of physical activity for a week). It is a common fact that with the increase in age group, the level of inactivity increases. the people aged around 16 to 24 were considered to be the most physically active (Britishobesitysoc, 2017). While, the people who aged around 75 and more are less physically active. Physical activity is also significantly different in male and female. 27% of females are found to be more inactive than the 24% of the males. Even, people belonging from different ethnic cultures like the black, Chinese, Asian groups are found to be more physically inactive than the mixed and white counterparts. The people who never employed and have never worked are more likely to be physically inactive (37%). While, the people who worked in the administrative and managerial positions are more likely to be physically active (17%) (Apps.who.int, 2017).

The various causes of obesity need to be highlighted so that the incidence of obesity can be prevented. The difference between the intake of calorie and the expenditure of energy can define a person’s body weight. If a person consumes more energy than he or she could probably utilize or burn. Then the energy gets accumulated and stored as fat. Like the same way, if a person consumes less energy then he or she metabolizes and which results in losing weight. Thus, the body weight is due to the result of metabolism, genetics, behavior and culture. Genetically, a person is more likely to become obese if his/ her parents are obese (Wright and Aronne 2012). Genetics affect the hormones that are associated with the fat regulation. An example of genetic cause of obesity is the leptin deficiency. Overeating results in gaining weight, the more a person consumes energy rich foods, the more that person will gain weight. Diets that contain high amounts of carbohydrates elevates the blood glucose levels and in turn stimulates the production of insulin. This leads to the accumulation of fat and causes weight gain. Medications like antidepressants, oral contraceptive and corticoids cause certain changes in the physiology and metabolism of the body. Psychological factors like depression, anger, stress are the causal factors of overweight in people. Diseases like hypothyroidism, insulin resistance are the major contributors of obesity. Social issues also contribute to the obesity among the people. Like for example, lack of money to purchase quality food and the lack to money to reside in safe place also leads to obesity (Gonçalves et al. 2012).

The major health implications from the increased incidence of obesity results in spread of non- communicable diseases. Diseases like cardiovascular diseases (resulting in stroke and heart diseases), musculoskeletal disorders (including the osteoarthritis- that degenerates and cause disability in movement), diabetes and cancer. The different types of cancers include breast, prostate, ovarian, liver, kidney, gallbladder and colon. The risks of these diseases increases with the increase in BMI. Childhood obesity is associated with the increased incidence of premature death, obesity and losing mobility. However, along with the increased risks in future, the children also experience difficulties in breathing, fractures, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and psychological effects (Kurdiova et al. 2014).

Therefore, from the above discussion it can be concluded that, obesity is an alarming health issue in United Kingdom and world over. The reasons due to which the incidence of obesity has increased is the change in life style, eating habit and other environmental factors. While, all these factors can be controlled to achieve desired changes. However, effective strategies must be implemented by the UK government to manage and effectively reduce the prevalence of obesity in the children and the adults. There are several NGO, private organizations that can work with the World Health Organization to effectively chalk out plans to reduce the factors that cause obesity among the UK and global citizens alike.

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