What is the burden of obesity?

Obesity imposes a significant burden on people living with the disease, negatively impacting physical, mental, and social well-being.¹

Obesity can adversely affect an individual’s education, income, job opportunities, and value creation.^2,3 The impact of obesity can be influenced by an individual’s socioeconomic status and decreases their quality-adjusted life years.^4,5

There is also a significant pressure on public and specialised health institutions attributed to obesity in terms of costs and quality of services.⁶

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BMI, body mass index.

Some people are genetically predisposed to obesity; the heritability of obesity is estimated to be approximately 40–70%.^9,10

Social and environmental factors play a substantial role in shaping obesity outcomes.^11-14

Education

Obesity is more common among individuals with lower levels of education.

Social hierarchy

People with lower socioeconomic resources are more likely to have a higher BMI.

Culture/Community

Obesity is more prevalent in communities with predominantly ethnic minority residents.

Transport

High neighbourhood walkability is associated with a decreased prevalence of obesity.

BMI, body mass index.

Chapter 1: How does weight stigma affect people living with obesity?

SC-GB-03707 Metabolism - How does weight stigma affect people living with obesity

Chapter 2: How should clinicians approach the emotional burden of obesity?

Obesity

Understanding Obesity

Back to understanding obesity

Obesity

Diagnosis and Assessment

Okolo D, et al. The Influence of Obesity on Quality of Life: A Systematic Review. J Adv Med Med Res. 2024;36:267-279.
Cohen AK, et al. Educational attainment and obesity: a systematic review. Obes Rev. 2013;14:989-1005.
Kim TJ, von dem Knesebeck O. Income and obesity: what is the direction of the relationship? A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open. 2018;8:e019862.
Lartey S, et al. Impact of overweight and obesity on life expectancy, quality-adjusted life years and lifetime costs in the adult population of Ghana. BMJ Glob Health. 2020;5:e003332.
Anekwe CV, et al. Socioeconomics of Obesity. Curr Obes Rep. 2020;9:272-279.
OECD. The Heavy Burden of Obesity: The Economics of Prevention: OECD Publishing, Paris; 2019.
Steptoe A, Frank P. Obesity and psychological distress. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2023;378:20220225.
Siopis G, et al. The Emerging Prevalence of Obesity within Families in Europe and its Associations with Family Socio-Demographic Characteristics and Lifestyle Factors; A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Baseline Data from the Feel4Diabetes Study. Nutrients. 2023;15:1283.
Loos RJF, Yeo GSH. The genetics of obesity: from discovery to biology. Nat Rev Genet. 2022;23:120-133.
Huvenne H, et al. Rare Genetic Forms of Obesity: Clinical Approach and Current Treatments in 2016. Obes Facts. 2016;9:158-173.
Kim YJ. The long-run effect of education on obesity in the US. Econ Hum Biol. 2016;21:100-109.
Mayor S. Socioeconomic disadvantage is linked to obesity across generations, UK study finds. BMJ. 2017;356:j163.
Williams MS, et al. Social and Structural Determinants of Health and Social Injustices Contributing to Obesity Disparities. Curr Obes Rep. 2024;13:617-625.
Loo CK, et al. Association between neighbourhood walkability and metabolic risk factors influenced by physical activity: a cross-sectional study of adults in Toronto, Canada. BMJ Open. 2017;7:e013889.