She didn't realise it until a few weeks ago, but Sarah Burrows is obese.

And while she isn't exactly the kind of person who takes up two seats on the bus and gets stuck in doorways, if Mrs. Burrows doesn't do something about her weight soon, she'll die nine years early.

That was what she found out as she attempted to get to grips with startling statistics suggesting Bermuda is the fourth fattest country in the world.

As Bermuda Diabetes Association's new programme manager, Mrs. Burrows had been scratching her head at a recent study showing a staggering 96 percent of obese Islanders did not class themselves as obese.

Now she can shed some light on why, simply by considering the way she used to think about her own weight problem.

At 5 feet 5 inches tall and 180 pounds, Mrs. Burrows knew she was overweight, but as far as she was concerned she wasn't obese.

She was wrong. With a body mass index of more than 30, not only is Mrs. Burrows clinically obese, but she is also a 50-year-old with a metabolic age of 65.

Now, having embarked on a healthier lifestyle that has so far seen her lose five pounds in three weeks, she's part of the team trying to convince the rest of Bermuda's obese population — 23 percent of the Country — to do the same.

With the Island's diabetes rate at 13 percent, roughly double that of the US, Mrs. Burrows and her colleagues have a lot of work to do, and fast. The vast majority of diabetes sufferers have Type Two diabetes, which is usually brought on by poor lifestyles.

Jane DeVille-Almond of the UK's National Obesity Forum, a recent visitor to Bermuda, helped Mrs. Burrows see the light about her own condition.

"She was the one who put me on the scales," Mrs. Burrows told The Royal Gazette. "When we saw I was obese, that was a light bulb moment for me. I consider myself to be fairly fit and I thought my metabolic age would be 55. But it said I was 65. Jane just pulled a face and said: 'You know what to do.'

"It's very difficult to look at yourself and say 'I'm overweight'. I have now taken nine years off my life if I stick at this weight. You don't feel that, because mentally I feel 28."

In recent tests at TCD — set up to target motorists patiently waiting for service — 47 percent of people were obese, twice the amount revealed in the Bermuda Health Survey this summer.

The difference is that the Bermuda Health Survey was done over the telephone and relied on people being honest about their vital statistics, whereas at TCD people underwent health screens. And among motorists found to be obese, only four percent had predicted they would be.

"People don't know what obese means," said Mrs. Burrows. "And people don't know how dangerous it is. It's a huge health issue. Maybe it's a culture thing. Some cultures like larger people. I don't understand it.

"When I think of Bermuda, I don't think of us like Canada or Scandinavia where they go canoeing or backpacking or other outdoor activities.

"It's more a laid-back party time. Every day we celebrate, eat lots of food, have lots of drink and lay around. We don't use our outdoor activities to their full potential, like kayaking or swimming."

Mrs. Burrows was speaking as BDA prepares for a series of events to mark world diabetes month.

Bermuda's diabetes rates have been blamed on various factors, from the genetic make-up of the population to too many people having a penchant for mayonnaise, fried chicken and sugary drinks.

Problems associated with diabetes include blindness, kidney failure, circulation problems, heart disease and stroke, but the damage can be limited with more exercise, better diet, medication and careful monitoring.

BDA does its bit by sponsoring diabetes management courses for local health professionals, offering free blood sugar screenings, organising healthy walks, helping run the Healthy Schools Programme with the Ministry of Education, taking part in the Well Bermuda programme and providing free medication for seniors.

For more information call 297-8427. To check your body mass index and find out whether you are obese, visit the Bermuda Health Council website at www.bhec.bm, click the link to the diabetes page and then click 'Body Mass Index Table'.

Sarah Burrows is the United Bermuda Party's General Election candidate for Sandys South Central, where she is up against current Progressive Labour Party MP Walter Lister. This interview was carried out before the election was called last week.