Download – Obesity and Anaesthesia

Approximately 7% of the worldwide adult population is obese. Obesity is a global health problem and the prevalence varies with socio-economic status. In affluent cultures, the poor have the highest prevalence (27% of the US population and 17% of the UK population are obese). In the developing world it is the affluent that are at the highest risk. There is also a recent trend to an increasing prevalence of obesity in adolescents and children. Importantly 60-85% of obese school children will remain obese as adults.

Kieran Rooney, Gavin Werrett