The Problem

Obesity is steadily and inexorably becoming the greatest health problem in the developed world. It has recently been estimated that 1.1 billion people are overfed and overweight, a number that rivals the number who are underfed and underweight. Obesity is a disease in which fat has accumulated to the point where health is impaired. By common practice, this is equivalent in the Western world to a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 kg/m².

The majority of adults in Australia, the United States and most of Western and Eastern Europe are overweight (BMI >25) and more than 20% are obese [3]. Access Economics estimated in its August 2008 report that 3.71 million Australians (17.5% of the population)were obese. This figure is 14.5% higher than its 2005 report, using similar measures, a frightening progression of disease.

Figure. 1. The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States, based on National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys in 1976-80 (1), 1988-94 (2), and 1999 (3)[4]).

Throughout the world, in both developed and developing nations, a similar pattern is occurring. After millions of years evolving a genetic structure to survive the life of the hunter/ gatherer, our health and our lives are now threatened by a lifestyle characterized by ready access to copious amounts of attractive food and very little need for physical activity. Foods high in fat, carbohydrates, and, in particular, simple sugars are booming, yet we don’t even need to get out of the chair to order the food delivered or even to change the channels on the television.