Madrid (EFE).- The prevalence of obesity has tripled in recent decades in Spain to around 16% in adults and, with this, its economic impact has worsened; if it continues like this, the 2,746 million cost that it entailed in 2019, will have become 3,651 million in 2030, 2.34% of GDP.
This Saturday marks a new World Obesity Day, which the World Obesity Federation has convened every year since 2015 -on March 4 from 2020- to try to raise awareness and respond to a crisis that affects 650 million people. in the world and which, according to projections, will reach close to 2,000 in 2035.
Under the slogan “Changing Perspectives: Let’s Talk About Obesity”, this year the Federation aims to put an end to misconceptions and the stigma that still hangs over a problem that scientific societies around the world agree to want to be recognized as a chronic disease. .
In Spain, the Spanish Society for the Study of Obesity (Seedo) has led an initiative to raise awareness of the urgency of considering it as a chronic and treatable disease in itself because, remember, it reduces life expectancy equivalent to that of smoking and ranks as the fifth cause of death in the world.
It also focuses on social phobia and the professionals themselves: “the lack of education and training of doctors and other health professionals is one of the main barriers to carrying out effective care and treatment of obesity” , says its vice president, Albert Lecube.
For its part, the Spanish Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition (Seen) has called for prevention, at all levels and with a transversal vision.
“Acting in critical periods that can be associated with weight gain, such as pregnancy, menopause, the start of work, in addition to intercurrent processes that reduce mobility, can be decisive,” Ana de Hollanda stressed. , coordinator of the Obesity Area.
Obesity causes 2.8 million deaths a year in the world
Obesity causes 2.8 million deaths a year in the world, reduces life expectancy from 5 to 20 years and is the third preventable factor that most reduces quality of life, has recalled the Spanish Association of Surgeons (AEC).
In line with the rest of the scientific entities dedicated to the study of obesity, the AEC insists not only on the need for social and institutional recognition of obesity as a chronic disease, but also on the need for a multidisciplinary approach.
Nearly 400,000 of these patients suffer from morbid or class III obesity, the most serious that exists and for whom surgery is the only treatment capable of achieving sustained weight loss over time, being the safest and most effective option for them. , has wanted to highlight the Spanish Society of Obesity Surgery (SECO), which has just updated the indications for bariatric surgery.
However, it is the one with the longest waiting list, with more than 11,000 patients who have to wait more than 400 days to undergo surgery.
Taking advantage of World Obesity Day, internists have chosen to banish the false beliefs that still persist; Thus, the Spanish Society of Internal Medicine (SEMI) has called for always seeking professional advice to lose weight without resorting to miracle diets that can put health at risk.
La Semi emphasizes that there is no “good obesity”, that it is not necessary to “go hungry to lose weight” and that a “well-planned and structured diet” allows you to lose weight in a healthy way and insists on the importance of not blaming the person for their situation, because it is influenced by many factors, including genetics, predisposing diseases, drugs or environmental and social factors.
To the significant health risk that it constitutes as a gateway to more than 200 comorbidities, the enormous impact it has for the economy is added.
According to the World Atlas of Obesity 2023, which has just been updated, half of the world population will live with overweight or obesity in 2035 if prevention and treatment are not prioritized, which will translate into 4,000 million euros per year in 2035. , almost 3% of world GDP.
The figures for Spain are no less alarming: the projection that this Atlas makes for 2035 makes it climb from a position of high risk to very high risk, with the forecast that that year, 37% of adults will be obese.
Worse still are the children’s, which he estimates have doubled by that date; According to the Gasol Foundation, currently 21.6% of children are overweight and 11.8% are obese.
All this translates into a cost of 3,651 million euros, including direct costs (all medical, amounting to 1,100 million), and indirect costs (of which 1,500 are due to premature mortality and 580 million due to absenteeism).