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Abstract Prior to the t\vcnt icth ccntur’l, obesity \vas valued as a n1ark of affluence, be~ty and health. Overeatlng and consequent overweight is now often regarded as a behaviour maladjustment. Insurance cori1pa11ics 2ontcnd that overwt:ight clients are higher risk becausce obesit.y rs directly or indirectly associated with a wide variety of diseases that collectively account for 15-20% of the mortality rate (Powcers, 1980) nbcsity rs one of the most common nutri~ional disorders rn present-days especially rn developed (Davidson and Passmore 1969) and fast developing countries (Richards et a1. 1974). In countrlcs approximately 3 :cJ c-o of ad:.Jlt population arc obese and ~:10.re are indications that the iore\·c:lcnce lS uocrcasl:og (Pov;ers, 1980). The 1959 ”Guild and Blood lJre~.Jsure st.ud’y’ 11 v..l hich describes weights of 5 million P·~opl,~· found th0t men ln t_he United States weigh 5 pounds :~tore thcu: previously recorded studies 1d1ile women 1-;eigh 2 - G i’Ounds less. In Britain Jolliffe and Jelliffc rn 1975 found young and mrddle-agcd men 15 pounds heavier than 30 years preceding the study v.rith only slight increases in height. |