Obesity Prevention

  • Obesity
    Worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1980. In 2014, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these over 600 million were obese. 39% of adults aged 18 years and over were overweight in 2014, and 13% were obese. Most of the world's population live in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight. 42 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2013. Obesity is preventable.
Submitted by PatientsEngage on 22 February 2016
Obesity Prevention

All of the measures mentioned under the management section apply to rules of prevention of obesity.

Additionally:

  1. Maintain a food diary/log to track your calories and nutrient intake.
  2. It is important to learn how to read food nutrition labels and use them wisely to avoid empty calorie and ingredients that are unhealthy.
  3. Weigh yourself routinely.
  4. Avoid all sugary drinks like cold drinks, soda, fruit drinks, energy drinks and food and beverages with excess synthetic preservatives and additives.
  5. Instead of juice consume a whole fruit that has fibre.
  6. Try to consume five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day. One vegetable serving is 1 cup of raw vegetables or 1/2 cup of cooked vegetables or vegetable juice. A fruit serving is one piece of small to medium fresh fruit, 1/2 cup of fresh fruit or fruit juice, or 1/4 cup of dried fruit.
  7. Balance the food “balance sheet.” Consuming more calories than one can burn, will result in weight gain.

Note: 70% of obese children had at least one CVD risk factor, and 39% had two or more. 

Read more information on Childhood Obesity here. 

References:

  1. CDC. “Overweight & Obesity.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 27 Sept. 2022, www.cdc.gov/obesity/index.html.
  2. Cleveland Clinic. “Obesity & Weight Control: Health Risks, Weight Loss & Bariatric Surgery.” Cleveland Clinic, 2020, my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/11209-weight-control-and-obesity.
  3. Harvard Medical School. “Why People Become Overweight.” Harvard Health, Harvard Health, 24 June 2019, www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/why-people-become-overweight.
  4. Howell, Nicholas A, and Gillian L Booth. “The Weight of Place: Built Environment Correlates of Obesity and Diabetes.” Endocrine Reviews, vol. 43, no. 6, 24 Feb. 2022, https://doi.org/10.1210/endrev/bnac005.
  5. Jiao, Jingjing. “The Role of Nutrition in Obesity.” The Role of Nutrition in Obesity, vol. 15, no. 11, 30 May 2023, pp. 2556–2556, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10255836/, https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15112556.
  6. K&H, Dr Hima, Director of. “Genetics in Obesity: Unveiling the Hidden Links for a Healthier Tomorrow.” GenepoweRx, 27 July 2023, genepowerx.com/family-history/.
  7. Karelis, Antony D., et al. “Metabolic and Body Composition Factors in Subgroups of Obesity: What Do We Know?” The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, vol. 89, no. 6, 1 June 2004, pp. 2569–2575, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15181025/, https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2004-0165.
  8. Lee, Alexandra, et al. “Social and Environmental Factors Influencing Obesity.” NIH.gov, MDText.com, Inc., 2019, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK278977/.
  9. “Management of Obesity.” Physiopedia, 2011, www.physio-pedia.com/Management_of_Obesity.
  10. Mayo Clinic Staff. “Obesity.” Mayo Clinic, 22 July 2023, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/obesity/symptoms-causes/syc-2037….
  11. Mongraw-Chaffin, Morgana, et al. “Metabolically Healthy Obesity, Transition to Metabolic Syndrome, and Cardiovascular Risk.” Journal of the American College of Cardiology, vol. 71, no. 17, May 2018, pp. 1857–1865, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S073510971833496X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2018.02.055. Accessed 20 Oct. 2019.
  12. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. “Overweight and Obesity - Causes and Risk Factors.” Www.nhlbi.nih.gov, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 24 Mar. 2022, www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/overweight-and-obesity/causes.
  13. NHS. “Causes - Obesity.” NHS, NHS, 15 Feb. 2023, www.nhs.uk/conditions/obesity/causes/.
  14.  
  15. “Obesity - Symptoms, Causes, Treatment and Prevention.” MedPark Hospital, 25 Oct. 2020, www.medparkhospital.com/zh-CN/disease-and-treatment/obesity. Accessed 28 Feb. 2025.
  16. “Obesity: How It Affects the Body.” Www.medicalnewstoday.com, 27 Apr. 2023, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/effects-of-obesity#summary.
  17. Obesity: Missing the 2025 Global Targets Trends, Costs and Country Reports. 2020.
  18. Rubino, Francesco, et al. “Definition and Diagnostic Criteria of Clinical Obesity.” The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, Jan. 2025, www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(24)00316-4/abst…, https://doi.org/10.1016/s2213-8587(24)00316-4.
  19. Salma Rashid AlKalbani, and Celine Murrin. “The Association between Alcohol Intake and Obesity in a Sample of the Irish Adult Population, a Cross-Sectional Study.” BMC Public Health, vol. 23, no. 1, 24 Oct. 2023, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-16946-4.
  20. World Health Organization. “Obesity and Overweight.” World Health Organization, WHO, 2024, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight.
  21. “World Obesity Day: “All Countries Significantly off Track to Meet 2025 WHO Targets on Obesity.”” World Obesity Federation, www.worldobesity.org/news/world-obesity-day-all-countries-significantly….
  22. John Hopkins Medicine. “Preventing Obesity in Children, Teens, and Adults.” John Hopkins Medicine, 2019, www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/obesity/preventi….
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23/Mar/2025
Community
Diabetes
Heart and Cardio-vascular
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Obesity

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