Obesity: What is it?
Overweight and obesity are states of the body that exist when people are carrying more weight than they should for their height. Health professionals will often use growth charts to track a child’s weight and height, noting what percentile the child is falling within. Children who fall within the 85th to 95th percentiles for weight are considered to be overweight while children falling above the 95th percentile for weight are considered to be obese.
Alternatively, a health professional may use a Body Mass Index (BMI) calculation to chart a child on a BMI percentile chart. BMI is a number calculated from a child’s weight and height. Again, if the BMI percentile is 85th to 95th, the child is considered to be overweight while 95th percentile and above is considered to be obese. If BMI is high, additional tests may be conducted to fully determine the child’s weight status (CDC, 2011).
How bad is it?
In Australia, 17% of children ages 12 through 16 are overweight and 6% are obese (2007 National Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey). Childhood overweight or obesity in the 1960’s was 5% but in 2010, it rose to 23%. The numbers in NSW are very similar. According to the Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey 2010 (SPANS), 17.1% of NSW children are overweight and 5.8% are obese for a combined total of 22.8%. This means that around 250,000 children in NSW are overweight or obese. If obesity prevalence increases over the next 20 years in line with current trends, there will be 6.9 million obese Australians by 2025.
Recent reports from Australia, the United States, France, Sweden and New Zealand have noted stabilisation in childhood overweight and obesity rates over the last five to ten years. In Australia, prevalence has flattened in the last decade. However, evidence shows that adult overweight and obesity prevalence continues to rise (Olds et. al, 2010). Even with this plateau, the current childhood overweight and obesity figures bring significant physical and mental health issues (Olds et. al, 2010).
If we do not reverse the trend of childhood obesity, the health problems children will face are staggering. This will also lead to huge healthcare costs. Recent figures suggest that the “total direct cost of overweight and obesity in Australia in 2005 was $21 billion” (Colagiuri et. al, 2010). This figure does not include indirect costs, which elevate the total per year to over $50 million. This figure will only increase if the current obesity rates continue.
Overweight and obesity are states of the body that exist when people are carrying more weight than they should for their height. Health professionals will often use growth charts to track a child’s weight and height, noting what percentile the child is falling within. Children who fall within the 85th to 95th percentiles for weight are considered to be overweight while children falling above the 95th percentile for weight are considered to be obese.
Alternatively, a health professional may use a Body Mass Index (BMI) calculation to chart a child on a BMI percentile chart. BMI is a number calculated from a child’s weight and height. Again, if the BMI percentile is 85th to 95th, the child is considered to be overweight while 95th percentile and above is considered to be obese. If BMI is high, additional tests may be conducted to fully determine the child’s weight status (CDC, 2011).
How bad is it?
In Australia, 17% of children ages 12 through 16 are overweight and 6% are obese (2007 National Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey). Childhood overweight or obesity in the 1960’s was 5% but in 2010, it rose to 23%. The numbers in NSW are very similar. According to the Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey 2010 (SPANS), 17.1% of NSW children are overweight and 5.8% are obese for a combined total of 22.8%. This means that around 250,000 children in NSW are overweight or obese. If obesity prevalence increases over the next 20 years in line with current trends, there will be 6.9 million obese Australians by 2025.
Recent reports from Australia, the United States, France, Sweden and New Zealand have noted stabilisation in childhood overweight and obesity rates over the last five to ten years. In Australia, prevalence has flattened in the last decade. However, evidence shows that adult overweight and obesity prevalence continues to rise (Olds et. al, 2010). Even with this plateau, the current childhood overweight and obesity figures bring significant physical and mental health issues (Olds et. al, 2010).
If we do not reverse the trend of childhood obesity, the health problems children will face are staggering. This will also lead to huge healthcare costs. Recent figures suggest that the “total direct cost of overweight and obesity in Australia in 2005 was $21 billion” (Colagiuri et. al, 2010). This figure does not include indirect costs, which elevate the total per year to over $50 million. This figure will only increase if the current obesity rates continue.
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