4 MARCH IS WORLD OBESITY DAY

According to Dr Riekie Smit, a medical practitioner from Pretoria with a special interest in weight management, South Africa has alarmingly high rates of adult obesity. More than half of the female population and over a quarter of the male population are obese, and up to 70% of the female population either overweight or obese. She says that South Africa is also rated in the top 3 countries in Africa in terms of adult obesity rates, with no signs of this abating.

Even worse, our childhood obesity rates are continuing to rise. According to Diabetes South Africa, 20% of girls younger than 9 years are overweight and 13,5% of school-going children are overweight or obese, which is higher than the 10% global rate,” she says.

Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more. Your BMI is calculated with a simple formula of your weight (kg) divided by your height (m) squared. BMI calculators are also easily accessible online. “This should not be the only guideline used, as your waist circumference is another really important measure of your risk for health problems. A high-risk waistline is over 80cm for women or over 94cm for men, and this indicates an increased risk for high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and other conditions,” Dr Smit says.

Diabetes, which is one of the conditions associated with obesity, is now the ‘largest killer’ of South African women according to Statistics SA research. Having type 2 diabetes also increases your risk of severe illness from COVID-19. “Obesity, as well as its comorbid diseases, affects one’s immunity and your body’s ability to recover from illnesses. Obesity is associated with a depressed immune system and chronic low-grade inflammation in your body,” she says. In fact, researchers have established the likelihood that the presence of excess fat or adipose tissue could increase transmission of the virus between organs and could possibly increase viral load and drive disease severity.

“Obesity is associated with reduced cardiac and respiratory function, kidney pathology and all these and the other comorbid conditions gives rise to the poor outcome that many obese patients have when infected with COVID-19,” Dr Smit explains. Worse yet, obese people generally seem to respond poorly to vaccinations and antiviral treatments. Furthermore, obesity increases your risk for numerous other health conditions, many of which can be fatal. Overall, obesity is estimated to increase the risk of dying from heart conditions by four times and doubles your risk of cancer-related death.

“For persons with severe obesity (BMI >40), life expectancy is reduced by as much as 20 years in men and 5 years in women,” she says. According to Dr Smit, this a disaster requiring urgent intervention. “Numerous scientific studies have revealed that most of the obesity related medical conditions improve significantly with a weight loss of as little as 5% to 10% of your body weight.  This should really motivate anyone with health or weight problems,” she says. “Educate yourself on healthy foods and how to lose weight, write down the steps, have a goal, and then start following the steps. You will also need help and advice from those with experience,” she says.

If you are worried about your weight, or for any further information, speak to your doctor for advice about how to lose or manage your weight. Go to www.ilivelite.co.za for more information, to check your BMI and weight circumference and get access to professionally developed dietary guidelines which feature different meal plans to suit various lifestyles and energy requirements.