What is obesity?
The medical definition of obesity is an abnormal or excessive accumulation of body fat to such an extent that it presents a risk to health. [1].
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the global standard for an overweight adult is a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 25, while a BMI of 30 or more is obese.
However, in recent years, health authorities in many Asian countries have adopted the Asia-Pacific classification of BMI which recommends a lower cut-off for overweight and obese categories - 23–24.9 for overweight, and 25 for obese - compared to WHO [2].
BMI is a simple index of weight-for-height commonly used to classify overweight and obesity in adults. It is defined as a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of his or her height in metres (kg/m2) [1].
Read about how Labeesity® can help people with obesity.
What causes obesity?
You can become obese when you consume more calories than your body burns as fuel and the excess calories are stored as fat. Globally, more people are becoming overweight and obese because we now eat more energy-dense foods which are high in fat and sugars, but burn fewer calories because modern lifestyles and jobs are more sedentary and require less physical activity [1].
Obesity is common and its incidence is rising
Obesity is one of the world’s leading causes of death and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
In 2016, WHO reported that more than half of the world's population, 52% was overweight or obese. The Asia-Pacific region is home to more than half of the world's total population of overweight and obese people; that is more than a billion people or 2 out of every 5 adults in the population [3].
According to the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2019, 50.1% of Malaysian adults were either overweight (30.4%) or obese (19.7%) [4].
What’s the answer?
Containing the Standardized Herbal Extract SKF7™, Labeesity® is clinically proven to deliver safe and effective weight loss.
Research on the potential of SKF7™ in treating diabetes and cervical cancer is currently underway, as well as its efficacy in reducing the risk of developing Covid-19.
References
[1] World Health Organization, Obesity and overweight. Accessible at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight (Last accessed: 9 October 2020)
[2] Jeong Uk Lim et al, ‘Comparison of World Health Organization and Asia-Pacific body mass index classifications in COPD patients’. Accessible at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5571887/
[3] Helble, M. etal, ‘Wealthy but Unhealthy: Overweight and Obesity in Asia and the Pacific: Trends, Costs, and Policies for Better Health’. Accessible at https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/432536/adbi-wealthy-unhealthy-overweight-obesity-asia-pacific.pdf (last accessed: 6 Jan 2021)
[4] National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019, National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Ministry of Health Malaysia. Accessible at: http://iptk.moh.gov.my/images/technical_report/2020/4_Infographic_Booklet_NHMS_2019_-_English.pdf (last accessed 14 Jan 2021)