Health professionals recommend BMI should be kept below 25 and the waist circumference should be maintained below 80 cm (women) and 94 cm (men). According to WHO report in 2008, more than 1.4 billion adults were overweight, 200 million men and 300 million women were obese. In 2010, more than 40 million children under five were overweight. These figures showed obesity become more complex. At present, many researchers give a warning to obesities: the more weight you get, the more risk factors for serious diseases you have.
Obesity is known as a risk factor for various diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, arthritis, indigestion, gallstones, snoring, stress and infertility. It seems more negative effect on cardiovascular system than smoking. Scientists at the University of Colorado Denver (U.S) listed obesity as a major risk factor for coronary heart disease.
Until 2010, Japanese researchers investigated obesity induces inflammatory response. Compare to lean individuals, obesities have more inflammatory factors. These factors contribute atherosclerotic plaques in blood vessel walls, promote atherosclerosis. This is the major reason why obesity is an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as stroke, heart failure.
References
- Zhaoxia Wang and Tomohiro Nakayama, 2010. Inflammation, a Link between Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease. Mediators of Inflammation.
- Sciencedaily: Obesity is heart disease killer in its own rignt, irrespective of other risk factors, Feb 2011
- World Health Organization: Obesity and overweight, May 2012
