Health risks associated with overweight and obesity

Overweight and obesity cause or exacerbate a large number of health problems, both independently and in association with other diseases, and are among the most significant contributors to ill health (1–4). The intra-abdominal visceral deposition of adipose tissue, which characterizes upper body – central – obesity (assessed by waist circumference and/or waist : hip ratio) is a major contributor to the development of hypertension, elevated plasma insulin concentrations and insulin resistance, hyperglycaemia and hyperlipidaemia (metabolic syndrome). The concept of the metabolic syndrome refers to the phenomenon of risk-factor clustering – a collection of metabolic traits occurring in the same individual with the…