Articles about Obesity
Julia Goedecke, a senior specialist for the Medical Research Council of South Africa said that many do not understand the health consequences of being overweight. "People don’t understand it; they see it as more of an aesthetic problem than a health problem". She said that culture influences perceptions around obesity. "In some cultures obesity is associated with health and prosperity". Did you know that 31% of men and 68% of women in South Africa are obese? Being overweight or obese not only affects your self-esteem, it also leads to heart disease and potentially an early death. This is a big problem, not only in adults but also in children. According to Stats SA, 62.2% women and 25.1% men in the Western Cape are overweight or obese.
If obesity in South African children continues to increase at the current rate, 3.91 million school children will be overweight or obese by 2025. On world Obesity Day, the Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa (HSF), together with the World Obesity Federation, calls for decisive action from government, private sector and parents.
Obesity rates are rapidly increasing in the African Region, as in most parts of the world. Overweight and obesity, particularly in urban settings, are major risk factors for type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attacks and a variety of cancers. There is a common misconception that obesity and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) only occur among the wealthy. Poorer populations are experiencing high double-burdens of infectious and chronic diseases.
Latest articles
First SA Healthy Adult Report Card
The Healthy Aging Adult South Africa report card: a systematic review of the evidence between 2013 and 2020 for middle-aged South African men and women
A study, entitled “Should fast food nutritional labelling be mandatory in South Africa,” and supported by the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Human Development, was recently conducted at the University of the Witwatersrand. One of the aims of the study was to determine the proportion of the largest South African fast-food restaurants (based on the BusinessTech 2017 and 2018 annual reviews) that had nutritional information.
Should fast-food nutritional labelling in South Africa be mandatory?
Admixture/fine-mapping in Brazilians reveals a West African associated potential regulatory variant (rs114066381) with a strong female-specific effect on body mass and fat mass indexes.
South African 24-hour movement guidelines from birth to five years. Guidelines for parents and practitioners are in Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Venda, Xhosa, Xitsonga, Zulu
Q&A
about Obesity
Obesity is a chronic disease much
like diabetes or high blood pressure.
True or False
Weight loss is the most important goal of fitness and exercise.
True or False
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