Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Overweight and Obesity in Adults

Overview

Overweight and obesity are in epidemic proportions throughout Australia: it is estimated that 67 per cent of adult males and 52 per cent of adult females were overweight or obese in 1999-2000. The figures are even higher for some ethnic and age groups.

This epidemic of overweight and obesity is part of a worldwide trend, and it is contributing to increasing levels of non-communicable metabolic and mechanically induced disorders such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, joint problems, obstructive sleep apnoea, and some cancers.

While the causes of the problem are diverse, it is the interaction between humans’ varying levels of genetic, cultural and socio-economic predisposition to weight gain, and an increasingly ‘obesogenic’ modern environment, that is propelling the epidemic and explains the inter-individual differences in response.

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