Extracts from "Clinical Evidence": Obesity

doi:10.1136/bmj.322.7299.1406

BMJ 2001;322:1406-1409 ( 9 June )

Clinical review

Extracts from "Clinical Evidence"

Obesity

David Arterburn, chief resident ^a, Polly Hitchcock Noël, associate director ^b.

^a University of Texas, Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78284, USA, ^b VERDICT, South Texas Veterans Health Care System, US Department of Veterans Affairs, San Antonio, TX 78284, USA

Correspondence to: D Arterburn arterburn@stic.net

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

	Background

Definition Obesity is a chronic condition characterised by an excess of body fat. It is most often defined by the bodymass index, a mathematical formula that is highly correlated withbody fat. Body mass index is weight in kilograms divided by heightin metres squared (kg/m²). In the United States and the United Kingdom, people with abody mass index between 25 and 30 are categorised as overweight,and those with an index above 30 are categorised as obese.¹

Table Removed (Available Only in the Full Text)

Incidence/prevalence The prevalence of obesity has increased steadily in many countries since 1900. In England, in1994, it was estimated that 13% of men and 16% of women were obese. ¹ ² In the past decade alone, the prevalence of obesity in the UnitedStates has increased from 12.0% in 1991 to 17.9% in 1998.³

Aetiology The aetiology of obesity includes both genetic and environmental factors. Obesity may also be induced bydrugs (high dose glucocorticoids, for . . . [Full text of this article]

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