Obesity

In 1992, the Singapore government noted that the obesity prevalence among schoolchildren was 14%. Singapore's population has a relatively high prevalence of diabetes, at 9.2%. Rates of obesity and overweight are high – 6% of the adult population has a body mass index (BMI) of more than 30 kg/m2, and around 25% have a BMI above 25 kg/m2. Recent years have also seen the increasing appearance of young onset Type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose

In most people who develop diabetes there is a hereditary (genetic) component. However, in nearly all cases the genetic component alone does not cause the diabetes, but interactions with the environment of a person who is genetically susceptible. This is clearly demonstrated by the epidemic of diabetes worldwide. The dramatic increase in figures clearly cannot be accounted for by genetic factors. However, without the genetic susceptibility modern lifestyle changes would have no fertile field on which to exert their dangerous influences.

In the United States, the latest data show that two out of three adults are overweight, and nearly one in three is obese. Alarmingly, similar trends are emerging around the world. In countries as diverse as the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Kuwait, and Mexico at least half the population is overweight and one in five is obese.

This article by Martin Silink explains why children are becoming obese. He describes the scope of the obesity epidemic and explains how this is thought to be linked to diabetes. He investigates the causes of unhealthy eating habits and the decline in physical activity, and shows how these are impacting on the health of the world's children.

Overweight is an important risk factor for noncommunicable diseases in general and diabetes in particular. There is presently a global epidemic of overweight. A recent large study found a 5.6% growth in obesity in the United States in 2001, and a massive 74% increase since 1991. Twenty one percent of American adults are obese. The prevalence of diabetes, which correlates with obesity has risen 61% in the US since 1990. Diabetes rose 8% over 2000-01 to nearly 8% of the population. The situation is not much better in many developing countries.

Obesity is an epidemic accelerating out of control. It is the driving force behind an equally dramatic explosion of Type 2 diabetes, both in adults and now alarmingly among children. Clearly, strategies aimed at improving the prevention and management of obesity must be developed. Not confined to affluent nations, the obesity epidemic imposes a double burden on countries where people are still struggling to overcome generations of chronic undernutrition. Economic progress in developing countries heralds changes in

As prevalence of diabetes increases globally, developing countries such as India face the massive burden of a diabetes epidemic in the urban population. Migrant Asians from the Indian subcontinent are known to have a higher prevalence of Type 2 diabetes than the host populations and other migrant ethnic groups. Studies conducted in several Asian countries in the last decade highlighted a rising prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in the urban population. The prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) is also on the rise, indicating a possible further increase in diabetes in the future.

President's editorial

Populations around the world are getting fatter. People of all ages are showing signs of diabetes and other conditions which are associated with being fat. It has been found that people of African, Asian and Hispanic origins are at particularly increased risk from obesity and obesity-related conditions such as diabetes. Due to a variety of cultural and socio-economic factors, women from these populations seem to be at especially high risk from the dangers of overweight.