Obesity and the overworked GP

[摘要] Almost the whole world has a problem — and for the UK, it is worse than most. The World Health Organisation has described obesity as one of the most blatantly visible, yet most neglected, public health problems threatening both developed and developing countries.1 The prevalence of obesity in England almost tripled between 1980 and 1998, from 8% of women and 6% of men, to 21% of women and 17% of men.2 Today, 59% of women, and 67% of UK men are overweight or obese, and the UK has one of the fastest growing rates of obesity in the world.3 The close correlation between increasing weight and incidence of diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidaemia and cardiovascular disease (CVD) contributes to the estimated annual cost of obesity to the NHS of over £500 million, and the annual cost to the wider economy of £2 billion.2

[学科分类] 卫生学