2020/08/03 by Sean Wharton, David C.W. Lau, Michael Vallis +78 · 14 citations
Health Professions · Medicine · #Diet and metabolism studies #Obesity and Health Practices #Pharmacology and Obesity Treatment
paper · pdf · doi:10.1503/cmaj.191707
openalex publication_date 2020/08/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
besity is a complex chronic disease in which abnormal or excess body fat (adiposity) impairs health, increases the risk of long-term medical complications and reduces lifespan. 1 Epidemiologic studies define obesity using the body mass index (BMI; weight/height 2 ), which can stratify obesity-related health risks at the population level. Obesity is operationally defined as a BMI exceeding 30 kg/m 2 and is subclassified into class 1 (30-34.9), class 2 (35-39.9) and class 3 ( 40). At the population level, health complications from excess body fat increase as BMI increases. At the individual level, complications occur because of excess adiposity, location and distribution of adiposity and many other factors, including environmental, genetic, biologic and socioeconomic factors (Box 1). ver the past 3 decades, the prevalence of obesity has steadily increased throughout the world, Importantly, severe obesity has increased more than fourfold and, in 2016, affected an estimated 1.9 million Canadian adults. besity has become a major public health issue that increases health care costs People with obesity experience pervasive weight bias and stigma, which contributes (independent of weight or BMI) to increased morbidity and mortality. 17 Obesity is caused by the complex interplay of multiple genetic, metabolic, behavioural and environmental factors, with the latter thought to be the proximate cause of the substantial GUIDELINE