Excess adiposity, which takes into consideration both body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) measures in a new study conducted by Statistics Canada, is being combined with data on obesity-related impairments to identify the prevalence of obesity and preclinical obesity in the Canadian population.
“To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to combine population-level measures of excess adiposity with indicators of obesity-related impairment – physiological dysfunction and activity limitations – across eight body system domains to characterize clinical and preclinical obesity among Canadian adults,” the recently published paper from Statistics Canada states.
Entitled Assessing obesity beyond body mass index: Integrating physiological and functional indicators of impairment in national health surveillance, the paper, using tiered definitions to identify the prevalence of obesity, found that the prevalence of impairment in five of the eight domains studied, was substantively and significantly higher among adults with excess adiposity versus adults with normal weight.
Among those with excess adiposity (again, this is high BMI, coupled with a high WC), 31 per cent did not have any indicators of impairment, 44 per cent had indicators in two or more domains and 24 per cent had indicators in three or more domains. Among those between 18 and 39 years of age, 60 per cent did not have any indicators of impairment while just nine per cent of those between 60 and 79 years of age could say the same. Some of the indicators included sleep apnea, elevated blood pressure, pain limitations, knee, hip and spine problems, lung problems, kidney and liver disease.
“The least restrictive characterization of clinical obesity (Tier 1), which required excess adiposity plus one indicator of impairment, produced a clinical obesity population prevalence of 19 per cent and a preclinical obesity prevalence of eight per cent,” they write.
“Tier 2, which required impairment in two or more domains, yielded a clinical obesity prevalence of 12 per cent and a preclinical obesity prevalence of 15 per cent.
Tier 3 was the most stringent classification, which required impairment in three or more domains, and produced a prevalence of seven per cent for clinical obesity and 20 per cent for pre-clinical obesity.”
