Potential of Nutraceuticals against Obesity Complications

Abstract

Obesity has been regarded as a disease by the World Health Organisation (WHO) since its inception in 1948; however, it was not deemed a public health problem by WHO until 1997 (James 2008). The most widely used method of classifying overweight and obesity is by body mass index (BMI = weight/ height2), and those with a BMI of 25-29.99 kg/m2 are classified as overweight and those with a BMI of ≥30 kg/m2 as obese (WHO 2011). However, although BMI correlates with body fat it is not a direct measure and results may be skewed by a high muscle mass such as can be seen in some athletes.