In a webcast from the medical website, www.medscape.com in July 2007, Dr.

Zimmet
decries the problem as, "Diabesity-The Biggest Epidemic in Human History." He continues,
"What HIV/AIDS was in the last 20 years of the 20th century diabetes and obesity and their
consequences will almost certainly be in the first 2 decades of the 21st century."
There is even more. Among the top ten countries with diabetes by 2030, six are from Asia
(neighbors India, number 1; China, number 2; Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Japan).
The Philippines ranks number 9, definitely a top 10 that we as a nation, should not aspire
too. The 6th National Nutrition Health Survey of 1993 warns us that its time to wake up!

Diabesity is a global health threat, so much so, that the United Nations General Assembly
fast-tracked a unanimous resolution in December 2006-with lobbying from the International
Diabetes Federation (IDF), Paul Zimmet, one of its most ferocious and passionate
proponents-"declaring diabetes an inter national public health issue, only the second disease
after HW/AIDS to attain that unenviable status."

Of the several ways to measure degree of obesity available to us, the simplest would be a
body mass index (BMI), the waist circumference and the waist/hip ratio. Although not a
direct measure of adiposity, the BMI is most widely used method. It is calculated from the
height and weight as follows:

BMI = body weight (in kg) / square of stature (height, in meters) BMI defines the degree of
risk for cardiovascular morbidity. A BMI between 25 and 30 kg/m2 is low risk, above 30
kg/m2 is moderate risk. A BMI between 25 and 30 is significant and requires therapeutic
intervention when other risk factors like hypertension and glucose intolerance co-exist.

The survey says that five percent of the population has a BMI greater than 30, and 19.6
percent are overweight. Twenty four percent of the population is overweight or obese, an
increase from 20 percent in 1998. Seven percent of the obese are women, and 3 percent
are men. Obesity is most prevalent among those aged 40-59 years.

Classification of weight by BMI in - adult Asians (WHO-Western Pacific Region 2000) See
table.
CLASSIFICATION BMI KG/M2 RISK OF CO-MORBIDITIES
Underweight <18.5
Low (but increased risk of
other clinical problems)
Normal 18.5-22.9 Average
Overweight >23

At risk 23-24.9 Increased
Obese I 25-29.9 Moderate
Obese II >30 Severe
For Asians, this classification had been modified - the normal BMI is only up to 23, the
individual is already overweight if BMI is between 23 and 25, and obese if BMI is more than 25.
Waist Circumference. For Asians, waist circumference is more predictive of body fat excess,
and is most useful if BMI is less than 35. One is considered obese if they exceed the cut-off
values of 102 cm for men and 88 cm for women.
Waist to Hip Ratio. Values are gender-specific: >1.0 for men; > 0.85 for women.