Obesity in (large) numbers

Excess body weight is the sixth most important risk factor contributing to the overall burden of disease such as diabetes worldwide.

More than one billion adults and 10 per cent of children are now classified as overweight or obese in the whole world.

When compared to EU member states, Malta has the highest rate of obesity among males and the third highest among females, with 69 per cent of males and 49.1per cent of females being overweight and obese.

The health examination survey done in 2011, when people were actually measured, showed the percentage of obese is actually 29.8 per cent. This shows an underestimation of the actual proportion of the obese population by 6.8 per cent.

As a consequence of this, the self-reported measures overestimate the proportion of normal individuals by 3.2 per cent and overweight individuals by 3.6 per cent.

This discrepancy between self-reported and measured BMI calculations is more pronounced in females when compared to males.

Age and gender are known to be significantly associated with BMI. In both men and women, the prevalence of obesity increases with age most strikingly after 24. Women are more likely to be obese, while men are more likely to be overweight.

The data from this study shows similar patterns of obesity among the Maltese population: overall there is a higher proportion of obese females when compared to males, while there is a higher proportion of overweight males when compared to females.

The Health Behaviour Study in School-aged Children carried out in 2010 shows that a considerable percentage of children aged 11 to 15 are overweight or obese.

The proportion is largest among 11-year-old boys.

In fact, 41.3 per cent of 11-year-old boys are overweight, or obese, compared to 26.3 per cent of girls of the same age.

The proportion of overweight or obese girls remains quite constant with age, while for boys, it drops as age increases to 28.2 per cent among 15-year-olds.