Burden of obesity in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study.

OBJECTIVES: We used the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2015 study results to explore the burden of high body mass index (BMI) in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). METHODS: We estimated the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children (2-19 years) and adults (≥20 years) in 1980 and 2015. The burden of disease related to high BMI was calculated using the GBD comparative risk assessment approach. RESULTS: The prevalence of obesity increased for adults from 15.1% (95% UI 13.4-16.9) in 1980 to 20.7% (95% UI 18.8-22.8) in 2015. It increased from 4.1% (95% UI 2.9-5.5) to 4.9% (95% UI 3.6-6.4) for the same period among children. In 2015, there were 417,115 deaths and 14,448,548 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to high BMI in EMR, which constitute about 10 and 6.3% of total deaths and DALYs, respectively, for all ages. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to estimate trends in obesity burden for the EMR from 1980 to 2015. We call for EMR countries to invest more resources in prevention and health promotion efforts to reduce this burden

Hypertensive measures In schoolchildren: risk of central obesity and protective effect of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity

Fundamento: Aumento da prevalência de hipertensão arterial (HA) em crianças e adolescentes e sua associação com diversas comorbidades. Objetivo: Verificar a associação de HA, obesidade central e obesidade geral, e nível de atividade física em escolares.Métodos: Participaram do estudo 336 crianças e adolescentes, de 11 a 17 anos de idade. Aferiram-se estatura, peso corporal, circunferência da cintura (CC) e pressão arterial (PA). Foi calculado o índice de massa corporal escore z (IMC-z). O nível de atividade física foi avaliado pela versão curta do International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), conforme a prática em atividades físicas moderadas-vigorosas (AF-mv). Consideraram-se hipertensos os escolares que apresentaram pressão arterial sistólica (PAS) e/ou diastólica (PAD) superiores ao percentil 95, de acordo com sexo, faixa etária e estatura, ou ≥120×80mmHg. Utilizaram-se os testes estatísticos de t-Student, Qui-quadrado, Mann-Whitney e modelo de regressão logistica binária, considerando-se o nível de significância de p<0,05. Resultados: Foram observados que 40,5% dos escolares apresentaram HA, 35,11% excesso de peso (12,5% obesos), 13,39% CC elevada e 40,2% foram considerados insuficientemente ativos em AF-mv. As chances de HA foram relacionadas à CC elevada (OR=6,11; IC95%:2,59 a 14,42) e ao excesso de peso (OR=2,91; IC95%:1,76 a 4,79). Além disso, os adolescentes que praticavam AF-mv apresentaram menor risco de PAD elevada (OR=0,33; IC95%:0,15 a 0,72). Conclusão: Concluiu-se que a obesidade central, a obesidade geral e o sexo masculino foram os melhores preditores de HA em crianças e adolescentes. A prática de AF-mv demonstrou efeito protetor na PAD elevada em escolares.O presente estudo foi financiado pela Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Centro de Investigação em Estudos da Criança (CIEC), pelo Projeto Estratégico UID/CED/00317/2013, por meio dos Fundos Nacionais da Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), cofinanciado pelo Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) por meio do COMPETE 2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) com a referência POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007562

Net contribution and predictive ability of the CUN-BAE body fatness index in relation to cardiometabolic conditions

BACKGROUND: The CUN-BAE (Clínica Universidad de Navarra-Body adiposity estimator) index is an anthropometric index based on age, sex and body mass index (BMI) for a refined prediction of body fatness in adults. CUN-BAE may help detect metabolically unhealthy individuals with otherwise normal weight according to BMI or waist circumference (WC). The aim of this study was to evaluate whether CUN-BAE, independent of its components (BMI, age and sex), was associated with cardiometabolic conditions including arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome (MetS). METHODS: The ENRICA study was based on a cross-sectional sample of non-institutionalized men and women representative of the adult Spanish population. Body weight, height, and WC were measured in all participants. The residual of CUN-BAE (rCUN-BAE), i.e. the part of the index not explained by its components, was calculated. The associations of CUN-BAE, rCUN-BAE, BMI and WC with hypertension, diabetes and MetS were analysed by multivariate logistic regression, and the Akaike information criterion (AIC) was calculated. RESULTS: The sample included 12,122 individuals. rCUN-BAE was associated with hypertension (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.07-1.21) and MetS (OR 1.48, 1.37-1.60), but not with diabetes (OR 1.05, 0.94-1.16). In subjects with a BMI?<?25 kg/m2, CUN-BAE was significantly associated with all three outcome variables. CUN-BAE was more strongly associated with the cardiometabolic conditions than BMI and WC and fit similar AICs. CONCLUSIONS: The CUN-BAE index for body fatness was positively associated with hypertension, diabetes and MetS in adults independent of BMI or WC. CUN-BAE may help to identify individuals with cardiometabolic conditions beyond BMI, but this needs to be confirmed in prospective settings.Funding: The ENRICA study was funded and financed by Sanofi-Aventis. Specific funding for this analysis came from the governmental Spain FIS PI12/1166 and PI11/01379 projects and from the “UAM Chair in Epidemiology and Control of Cardiovascular Risk”

How and why weight stigma drives the obesity 'epidemic' and harms health.

BACKGROUND:In an era when obesity prevalence is high throughout much of the world, there is a correspondingly pervasive and strong culture of weight stigma. For example, representative studies show that some forms of weight discrimination are more prevalent even than discrimination based on race or ethnicity. DISCUSSION:In this Opinion article, we review compelling evidence that weight stigma is harmful to health, over and above objective body mass index. Weight stigma is prospectively related to heightened mortality and other chronic diseases and conditions. Most ironically, it actually begets heightened risk of obesity through multiple obesogenic pathways. Weight stigma is particularly prevalent and detrimental in healthcare settings, with documented high levels of 'anti-fat' bias in healthcare providers, patients with obesity receiving poorer care and having worse outcomes, and medical students with obesity reporting high levels of alcohol and substance use to cope with internalized weight stigma. In terms of solutions, the most effective and ethical approaches should be aimed at changing the behaviors and attitudes of those who stigmatize, rather than towards the targets of weight stigma. Medical training must address weight bias, training healthcare professionals about how it is perpetuated and on its potentially harmful effects on their patients. CONCLUSION:Weight stigma is likely to drive weight gain and poor health and thus should be eradicated. This effort can begin by training compassionate and knowledgeable healthcare providers who will deliver better care and ultimately lessen the negative effects of weight stigma

Burden of obesity in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study

Objectives We used the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2015 study results to explore the burden of high body mass index (BMI) in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). Methods We estimated the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children (2–19 years) and adults (≥20 years) in 1980 and 2015. The burden of disease related to high BMI was calculated using the GBD comparative risk assessment approach. Results The prevalence of obesity increased for adults from 15.1% (95% UI 13.4–16.9) in 1980 to 20.7% (95% UI 18.8–22.8) in 2015. It increased from 4.1% (95% UI 2.9–5.5) to 4.9% (95% UI 3.6–6.4) for the same period among children. In 2015, there were 417,115 deaths and 14,448,548 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to high BMI in EMR, which constitute about 10 and 6.3% of total deaths and DALYs, respectively, for all ages. Conclusions This is the first study to estimate trends in obesity burden for the EMR from 1980 to 2015. We call for EMR countries to invest more resources in prevention and health promotion efforts to reduce this burden