Page 55 - FoodFocusThailand No.171 June 2020

STRATEGIC R&D

Weight Control

& Management Strategies

The word “obese” has an offensive ring to it for some people. The 2013 data of the Ministry of Science
and Technology (or the current Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation) revealed
that one-fifth of the total Thai population suffered from obesity. According to the new statistic in 2019,
one-third of Thai citizens is in overweight condition, meaning that there is one obese person for every
three Thai nationals. This statistic landed Thailand on the second place in the ASEAN obesity ranking,
right after Malaysia.

Overweight and obesity are a risk factor
for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such
as, in especial, diabetes, hypertension,
dyslipidemia, cardiovascular diseases, and
cancer. Found to be correlated with insulin
resistance and cardiovascular anomalies,
visceral fat can undermine health through
chronic illnesses that affect a person’s quality
of life and the economy as a whole due to
increased healthcare expenditure and
disability-adjusted life year (DALY) emanating
from premature disability or death.

How Much Is Obese?
According to the World Health Organization’s
definition, overweight or obesity is a condition
in which the body accumulates an excess
amount of fat beyond the standard level and
damages health. The following indices are
methods to identify overweight conditions:
• Body Mass Index (BMI) is a relationship
index between the height and weight of a
person. The body weight in kilograms is
divided by the body height in m .
2
According to the WHO criteria, the BMI
higher than or equal to 25 kg/m2 indicates
overweight while the defining point for obesity
is at 30 kg/m or higher. For Asian population,
2
the baseline of overweight is from 22.9 kg/m 2
while that of obesity is at 25 kg/m or higher.
2
Identifying obesity through BMI has its
own limitations as the total weight takes in
every physical factor in a person’s body,
including muscles, fats, and bones. In general,
the body of a person who exercises regularly
or an athlete mainly consists of muscle mass.
At the same weight, the muscle size is smaller
than that of fat. Therefore, a person with higher
BMI due to higher muscle mass will have a

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