overweightorobese.BodyMass
Index,orBMI,isusedasa screening
toolforoverweightorobesity.Ifyour
BMIis30.0orhigher,itfallswithin
theobeserange.
Considerthata BMIbetween18.5
and24.9isconsideredhealthyand
youcanseewhyWimTilburgs,with
a BMIof40,hadsomanyproblems.
Eachminuteofeverydayandnight
itwasasifhewaswearinga suitof
bricksthatwasputtingpressureon
hisorgans,hisjointsandhismus-
cles.“Sooner,ratherthanlater,you’re
boundtobreakdown,”saysDrHanno
Pijl,a professorinthedepartmentof
internalmedicineatLeidenUniversi-
tyintheNetherlands,whospecialises
indiabetesandobesity.
Thetollobesityexactseachyear
includesfivepercentofalldeaths
aroundtheworld.Theannualcostof
treatingthenegativehealthimpacts
ofobesityisprojectedtotopUS$1.2
trilliongloballyby 2025 indirectand
indirectcostsduetofactorssuchas
healthcare,lostworkdaysandan
inabilitytowork.“Obesityisnota
medicalproblembuta societalone
thatourhealthcaresystemsarenot
equippedtodealwith,”DrPijlcon-
tinues.“They’rebuilttorespondto
infectiousdiseases,notnon-commu-
nicableones.”
Indeed,type2 diabetes,depression
andthe 11 kindsofcancer,including
thoseofthebreast,pancreasand
oesophagus,thatarelinkedwith
obesity, cannot be cured easily withantibioticsorpills.Norcanosteoar-
thritis,highbloodpressure,coronary
heartdisease,dementiaoreven‘fatty
tongue’,inwhichfatdepositsatthe
backoftheorgannearest the throat
obstructbreathing.THEAUSTR ALIANBUREAUofSta-
tistics’NationalHealthSurveyin
2017-18showedthat 67 percentof
Australianadultswereoverweight
or obese (12.5 millionpeople),
PHOTOS: SHUT TERSTOCK anincrease from 63.4 per centin
73
The Time Bomb Of Obesity