Impact of weight on quality of life of people in Johannesburg

Obesity is a complex disease with multi factorial etiology. Obesity is now estimated to involve 1.7 billion people worldwide. Obesity is the cluster of non communicable diseases now observed in both developed and developing countries. Obesity is at increased risk of hypertension, type2 diabetes, heart disease, gall bladder disease, certain cancers, Dyslipidaemia, stroke, osteoarthritis and sleep apnea. Assessments are needed to adequately capture the decrement in health and psychological well being that are so observed in obese individuals. Accordingly, researchers are realizing the importance of quality of life as a measure of health status in obese individuals. The Impact of Weight on Quality of life (IWQOL) is a survey instrument that is used to quantitatively assess an individual’s perception of how their weight affects their day to day life.