Obesity in Pakistan; Current and Future Perceptions

Abstract

Obesity is currently one of the most common health issues that is increasing day by day, and nearly 30% of world population is overweight or obese. More than 60% of global disease burden will be attributed to chronic disorder associated with obesity by 2020 according to WHO. Obesity is also a cause of many non-communicable diseases (NCD) due to which globally 60-70% deaths occur. Pakistan being the 9th most obese nation in the world suffering from its epidemic, affecting all age group, especially in children and females as compared to men and its ratio will be doubled in coming years due to high carbohydrate intake and physical inactivity and other environmental factors. Nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics which represent a unique approach in nutrition research, combining the application of powerful functional genomics technologies and play an important role in development and treatment of obesity and these preventive measures are required at the population level to control this global health issue.