Obesity has been recognised by the World Health Organization as a chronic disease – and the reasons go well beyond what we put on our plates or how often we hit the gym. 

In Singapore, overweight rates have climbed from 10.5 per cent in 2019-2020 to 12.7 per cent today, driven by calorie-dense diets, sedentary lifestyles and broader environmental factors.

Those living with obesity often have further related medical complications that include not just joint pain, but also fatty liver and Type 2 diabetes, says Dr Ester Yeoh, medical director and senior consultant endocrinologist at Aspen Diabetes & Endocrine Clinic at Novena Medical Center.

She explains why obesity is harder to treat than many assume and what the latest therapies offer.

Obesity is characterised by excessive body fat accumulation. In the Asian context, the body mass index (BMI) threshold is set at 27.5 kg/m² – lower than Western benchmarks – because Asians carry higher body fat and metabolic risk at lower body weights. 

Waist circumference is equally important: Above 90cm for men and 80cm for women signal dangerous levels of visceral fat, a key driver of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The World Health Organization classifies obesity as a chronic complex disease because it arises from the interaction of genetics, neurobiology, behaviour, access to healthy food, market forces and the broader environment.