Tackling the obesity problem

Yesterday marked European Obesity Day. The aim of this day is for European countries to make efforts to bring together healthcare, patient and political communities who are keen to raise awareness of obesity and the many other diseases on which it impacts. This year’s theme is ‘Tackling obesity together’. Obesity places a big burden and strain on healthcare services and society as a whole. The rate of obesity in Europe is high, increasing annually. Obesity induces a further burden due to the high morbidity and mortality rate that is directly or indirectly related to it. It also leads to a decrease in the quality of a person’s life. Obesity plays a central role in the development of many risk factors and chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers. Excess weight and obesity are responsible for about 80 per cent of cases of type 2 diabetes, 35 per cent of ischaemic heart disease and 55 per cent of hypertensive disease among adults in the European region. The risk of developing more than one of these comorbidities greatly increases when body weight increases. The high burden and costs of obesity are of serious concern, so much so that it...