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Friday 28 October 2016

Obesity

Obesity is defined as a 20 percent excess of body fat over ideal weight.

Both ancient Egyptian and Greek medicine recognized obesity as a medical disorder.

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance obesity was often seen as a sign of wealth, and was relatively common among the elite. The upper class often flaunted their large size, as can be seen in portraits of the time.

The Tuscan General Alessandro del Borro, attributed to Charles Mellin, 1645

The first weight-loss surgery was to the King of Leon, Spain during the 10th century. His morbid obesity made him lose the throne so his grandmother escorted him to Cordoba where a doctor sewed his lips shut, his food only coming from a straw. He lost half his weight and reclaimed the throne.

Henry VIII of England was grossly overweight, with a waist measurement of 54 inches (137 cm), and his legs were unable to support his vast bulk. The king had to have a cage installed in his palace with a pulley to carry him upstairs.

The word obesity was not seen in English until 1611 and obese was first used in 1651.

William Howard Taft (1857 – 1930), the obese 27th President of the United States, had a bathtub that could hold four people installed in the White House because he couldn't fit into the present one.

United States President William Howard Taft

Jon Brower Minnoch (September 29, 1941 – September 10, 1983) was an American man who, at his peak weight, was the heaviest human being ever recorded, weighing approximately 1,400 lb (635 kilograms; 100 stone).

By the turn of the 21st century, the American Medical Association has estimated that over half of the adults in the United States were either overweight or obese.

In 2013 the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that 57.6% of American citizens were overweight or obese.  A forecast based on early long-term trends suggests that more than 85% of adults will be overweight or obese in the U.S. by 2030.

The most obese state in 1995 (Mississippi) had at the time a lower rate of obesity than what the least obese state (Colorado) had by 2016.

Due to obesity, North America has 6% of the world's population and 34% of the world's human biomass.

Hawaii is currently the least obese U.S. state and is the only one where the obesity rate is under 20 percent.

Mexico is the world's fattest country with a 32.8 percent adult obesity rate, surpassing United States' 31.8 obesity rate, according to a study released in June 2013 by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). About 70 percent of Mexican adults are considered to be overweight.


Obesity is linked with the increasing death rates from diabetes and diseases of the circulatory system and kidneys.

Obese people cost public health services less money than healthy individuals, because they die faster.

The German word for weight gain from emotional over-eating is 'kummerspeck'.

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