Health and wellbeing: Giving weight to the argument

摘要

Many people in England are overweight or obese and this troubling trend continues (Department of Health (DH), 2014). Being overweight increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. Weight-related health problems cost the NHS more than 5 billion annually. Obesity occurs when energy intake from consuming food and drink is greater than energy expended through metabolic and physical activity over a prolonged period, resulting in the accumulation of excess body fat (Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), 2007). Being overweight or obese is the result of a complex interplay between various environmental, biological and social determinants (DIUS, 2007). As with the general population, obesity and being overweight among nurses are multifactorial.