Is obesity a disease? Understand the science’s point of view on the subject

World Obesity Day is a global campaign aimed at alerting countries about the dangers of overweight in the population. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 1 billion people in the world suffer from obesity – 650 million adults, 340 million adolescents and 39 million children. These numbers are likely to increase.

Obesity is a chronic disease, defined by the World Health Organization as an abnormal or excessive accumulation of body fat. According to the Ministry of Health, the prevalence of obesity has increased epidemically in all age groups in the past four decades.

Currently, the condition is a major public health problem in the world. The World Health Organization estimates that by 2025, nearly 167 million people – adults and children – will be less healthy because of being overweight or obese.

obesity

“Obesity is a chronic disease characterized by excessive accumulation of fat in the body. An individual is defined as obese when the body mass index (BMI) is greater than 30. The main causes of this problem include an unbalanced diet, mainly rich in sugar and nutrient fats, and a sedentary lifestyle “, explains Dr. Marcela Garthes, MD, nutritionist and professor of the Brazilian Association of Dietetics (ABRAN).

Obesity can be the result of several factors that include different dimensions: biological, social, cultural, behavioral, public health, and political. The Department of Health points out that the genetic, hormonal and environmental factors in which we operate are examples of what is not within our control. Therefore, losing weight becomes a real challenge for overweight people.

In addition, the condition is associated with an increased risk of other diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, systemic arterial hypertension, liver disease, and various types of cancer. Patients can also experience kidney problems, asthma, exacerbations of COVID-19, and joint pain, among other things, which reduce quality and life expectancy.

Overweight by the numbers in Brazil

According to the National Health Survey (PNS, 2020), currently More than half of all adults are overweight (60.3% or 96 million inhabitants), with a higher prevalence among females (62.6%) than males (57.5%). Obesity affects 25.9% of the population, amounting to 41.2 million adults.

And in 2020, of the children monitored in primary health care (PHC) in SUS, 15.9% were children under 5 years of age and 31.7% of children between 5 and 9 years old are overweightOf these, 7.4% and 15.8%, respectively, were obese as measured by body mass index (BMI) for age.

As for the adolescents monitored at the Primary Health Care Center in 2020, 31.8% and 11.9% were overweight and obese, respectively. Considering all Brazilian children under the age of 10, it is estimated that around 6.4 million are overweight and 3.1 million are obese. Looking at all Brazilian adolescents, it is estimated that about 11 million are overweight and 4.1 million are obese.

Overcoming obesity

Given the multifactorial causes of obesity, it is necessary to implement it public policy to combat the problem. The Ministry of Health recommends that obese patients a Multidisciplinary treatment, with individual approaches. In the care process, the determinants and conditions of overweight and obesity must be taken into account, without blaming, stigmatizing and discriminating against the person or their family.

For those who want to lose weight, Marcella recommends adopting a Healthy food and balanced. It is also essential to start doing physical activity – as this is a good way to ward off various health problems that being overweight can cause. In addition, the nutritionist recommends seeking help from a specialist Medical follow-up.

“Avoid miracle weight-loss recipes and highly restrictive diets found on the internet at all costs. This is because, in addition to not being truly effective for weight loss, such drastic changes in eating habits, such as restricting food groups, reducing calories and health risks when eating performed without medical supervision.