An estimated 250 million people around the world are clinically overweight and the numbers are rising each year. In 1997, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that obesity had become a global epidemic, posing a serious threat to public health due to the increased risks of related health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke. Obesity is defined as excessive body fat and this condition has serious effects on a person's health and quality of life. Obesity is considered to be second only to smoking as a leading cause of preventable death world-wide.

Causes of Obesity
Obesity generally results from a combination of unhealthy eating habits coupled with a non-active lifestyle. When a person's energy intake from food exceeds his or her energy requirements, the excess is stored as fat. Because body fat is hard to measure directly, whether a person is overweight can be determined by calculating his or her body mass index (BMI) by dividing the body weight in kilograms (kg), by the square of the height in meters (m2). A person with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 kg/m2 is defined as overweight and with 30 kg/m2 or more as obese.

Weight Management
A successful approach to weight management should consider the numerous factors contributing to overweight and obesity. Such a weight management programme should focus on:

• Diet
• Drug intervention treatment
• Physical activity
• Behaviour change
• Social support

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