Un índice de masa corporal (IMC) superior a 25 es indicativo de la presencia de sobrepeso. Sin embargo, el Prof. Philip James, presidente de la organización británica Obesity TaskForce (IOTF) manifiesta que se trata de una definición basada en la población occidental.
En este sentido, indica que la población asiática es más vulnerable a los trastornos relacionados con el sobrepeso –hipertensión, hipercolesterolemia o diabetes- si presentan un IMC menor. Es decir, considera que la definición debe ajustarse a las características de la población asiática y que para ésta un IMC superior a 23 ya es indicativo de sobrepeso.
Si ello se tiene en cuenta, significa que la prevalencia real del sobrepeso es un 50% superior a la estimada en la actualidad, y ascendería a 1.700 millones de personas en todo el mundo.
El Prof. James y expertos de la OMS hacen un llamamiento para llevar a cabo una evaluación formal de cómo los criterios definitorios de sobrepeso y obesidad funcionan en sociedades distintas. Este especialista añade que el impacto sobre la salud de la epidemia creciente de obesidad podría superar al del tabaquismo. "Está claro que las formas extremas de obesidad están aumentando incluso más rápido que la epidemia global y estamos siendo testigos del despliegue de una auténtica tragedia para la salud".
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International Obesity TaskForce
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