Draft Australian Dietary Guidelines (PDF, 3MB) - Eat For Health

Compared to having a BMI between 18.5 and 25, at a BMI of 30–35kg/m 2 , median survival isreduced by 2–4 years, at BMI 40–45kg/m 2 it is reduced by 8–10 years [706]. The relative increasein mortality rate attributable to obesity tends to decline with age [715]. Mortality and morbidityare also associated with the amount of weight gained in adult life [89, 685, 688].Many obesity-related conditions are preventable, and several are at least partially reversiblethrough weight loss achieved by adopting a nutritious dietary pattern and active lifestyle [89, 685,688].While the greatest risk to health on a population basis is associated with being overweight, beingunderweight can also have adverse health consequences including decreased immunity (leading toincreased susceptibility to some infectious diseases), osteoporosis, decreased muscle strength, andhypothermia[37]. Among older people, being underweight may be more deleterious to health thanbeing overweight [716].4.1.2.2 Children and adolescentsThe most immediate consequences of overweight/obesity in childhood is social discriminationassociated with poor self-esteem and depression, increased risk of development of negative bodyimage issues, and eating disorders [688]. Overweight children and adolescents are more likely todevelop sleep apnoea, heat intolerance, breathlessness on exertion and reduced exercisetolerance, tiredness, some orthopaedic and gastrointestinal problems, steatohepatitis and earlysigns of metabolic and clinical consequences, such as hypertension, hyperinsulinaemia,hypertriglyceridaemia and type 2 diabetes [688, 717].A major long-term consequence is that overweight children are more likely to become overweightadults with an increased risk of chronic diseases and early mortality [688, 717-719]. The risk ofchronic disease is increased with rapid weight gain in infancy and early childhood [88, 89].In infancy and early childhood, underweight and failure to thrive can be more prevalent thanoverweight and obesity in some communities. Failure to thrive is most commonly a result ofsocioeconomic factors, including poor living conditions [720] but can also occur among affluentsections of the community due to inappropriate dietary restrictions, for example based on fearsabout ‘unhealthy’ dietary habits leading to the development of atherosclerosis [721]. Specialistadvice should be sought on underweight and failure to thrive in infants and children.Inappropriate dietary restriction and eating disorders occur in some adolescents [722].DRAFT Australian Dietary Guidelines- December 2011 107