Obesity is regarded as a form of
malnutrition. One way of defining obesity is by means
of the body mass index (BMI). This is calculated for
an individual as follows:
BMI = body mass in kg/(height in m)2
Question:
Calculate the BMI for a person of body mass 70 kg and
height 1.7m. Show your working.
[2]
An obese person is defined
slightly differently in Europe and the USA as
follows.
Europe: BMI greater than
30
USA: BMI greater than 27.8 for
men, and greater than 27.3 for
women
These values were used in
producing the data for the table, which shows the
occurrence of obesity in England and Germany (both in
Europe) and in the USA between 1978 and
1994.
country
age range
year
occurrence of obesity (% of
population)
men
women
England
16-64
1980
6
8
1994
13
16
Germany
25-69
1985
15
17
1990
17
19
USA (European origin)
20-74
1978
24
24
1988-91
32
34
With reference to the table
Question:
state two limitations of the data as presented,
other than the slightly different definitions of obesity
in Europe and the USA;
[2] Question:
bearing in mind the limitations of the data, state
two main conclusions that can be drawn, apart from
the fact that obesity is increasing rapidly;
[2] Question:
if the trend for men in England continued, calculate
the percentage of Englishmen who would be obese by the end
of the year 2003. Show your working.
[2]
The body mass of an individual
depends mainly on the difference between energy
consumption and energy expenditure. The figure shows
the total daily energy expenditure of 9 lean and 7
obese women in an experiment into the cause of
obesity.
It is often suggested that lean
people have a higher metabolic rate than obese people,
and that this is an important factor in why they do
not become obese.
Question:
Explain whether this suggestion is supported by the data
in the figure.
[3]
Obese people are frequently
advised to take more
exercise.
Question:
Suggest why exercise, on its own, is unlikely to be
effective in reducing obesity.
