Obesity among People with Low Socioeconomic Status

Running head: HEALTH PROMOTION 1
Health Promotion
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HEALTH PROMOTION 2
Introduction
Obesity is a growing health concern that needs urgent attention due to the severe health
effects it has on both individuals and the community. Obesity leads to increased morbidity and
mortality from cardiovascular diseases. Secondly, it is one of the leading causes of hypertension
which can result in heart failure, stroke, congestive heart failure, and coronary heart diseases.
Lastly, obesity can lead to certain types of cancers and respiratory disorders. Obesity is more
prevalent among people with low socio-economic status. This is attributed to limited access to
quality foods, lack of education, lack of access to healthcare and lack of physical activities. The
Living Well Latrobe Council Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan 2017-2021 is keen on
ensuring that there are reduced cased of obesity and that people live healthy lives. For instance, it
is keen on increasing access to quality food and ensuring increased physical activities by creating
more affordable physical activity and sporting options.
Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition where an individual carries excess body fat or weight that
can have an adverse effect on one’s health (Bogart 2013, pp.31–69). Globally, there has been an
increased prevalence of obesity to the extent that it has now become a global health challenge.
According to the WHO, the number of people with obesity has tripled between 1975 and 2016.
This is attributed to the lack of physical activities, genetics, and consumption of unhealthy foods.
In 2016, an estimated 1.9billion adults who were 18 years and older were overweight while
650million of these adults were obese. In 2016, 13% of adults aged 18 years and above were
obese while 39% were overweight (World Health Organization, 2016).

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Although obesity was once considered to be a problem only in high-income countries, it
is now more prevalent in low and middle-income countries. In Africa for instance, the number of
obese children under the age of 5 has increased by approximately 50% since 2000. In 2016, an
estimated 41million children aged below 5 were obese or overweight (World Health
Organization, 2016). In 2016, more than 340 million adolescents and children aged 5-19 were
either obese or overweight. Among these, 18% were girls while 19% were boys. The prevalence
of obesity and overweight among adolescents and children has increased from 4% to 18%
between 1975 and 2016 (Seidell and Halberstadt 2015, pp.7-12).
In Australia, approximately 67.0% of the adults aged 18 and over were obese or
overweight in 2017-2018. This is an estimated two-thirds of the whole population. Among these,
35.6% were overweight while 31.3% were obese. Since 2014-2015, the number of adults aged 18
years and above with obesity has increased from 63.4% to 67.0%. Since 1995, the number of
adults with obesity has increased from 56.2% to 67.0%. In 2017-2018, the proportion of men
who were obese or overweight was 74.5% while that of women was 59.7%. Since 2014-2015,
the number of obese men and women has increased. The number of obese men changed from
28.4% to 32.5% while that of women increased from 27.4% to 30.2% (Australian Bureau of
Statistics 2015).
In 2014-2015, an estimated 63.4% of Australians aged 18 years and above were
overweight or obese which translates to 11.2 million people. 35.5% of the 6.3 million people
were overweight while 27.9% were obese. 35.0% had a normal weight while 1.6% were
underweight. Research indicates that the number of obese people in Australia is likely to increase
in the future. It is expected that by 2025, the number of men and women aged 20 years and

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above will increase by 83% and 75% respectively. It is also projected that there will be 16.9
million obese and overweight Australians by 2025 (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2015).
In Victoria, there has been an increase in the number of people who are either obese or
overweight. An estimated one in four adults is now obese in Victoria. In 2017-2018, the number
of obese or overweight people increased from 63.3% to 68.3%. In 2014-2015, 37.1%
(1.7million) of the adults aged 18 years and above were overweight. In the same year, 26.4%
(1.2million) adults were obese. 63.3% (2.9 million) people were obese or overweight. In 2014-
2015, 21.9% (248,400) children aged between 2-17 years were overweight. 7.3% (82,900)
children were obese. 28.6% (324,500) children were obese or overweight (Department of Health
and Human Services Victoria 2015, pp.1–63).
Obesity is a serious health concern that has led to increased morbidity and mortality from
obesity-related illnesses. According to the World Health Organization, globally an estimated 2.8
million people die annually as a result of being obese or overweight. Approximately 2.3% of
global DALYs are due to overweight or obesity. In 2011, 5% of the burden of disease was due to
overweight or obesity. In Victoria, obesity is one of the leading causes of poor health and
preventable deaths (World Health Organization 2016).
Obesity has a significant impact on the health of an individual and population. A high
body mass index is associated with increased cardiovascular risk as well as high cardiovascular
morbidity. Secondly, obesity can also result to hypertension which can then increase the risks of
kidney disease, heart failure, stroke, coronary heart diseases and congestive heart failure (De
Schutter Lavie and Milani 2014, pp.401-408). Thirdly, obesity can also lead to heart disease
which is one of the leading cause of mortality. Studies indicate that the risk of heart disease