Every year, at the beginning of March, World Obesity Day is celebrated, designed to draw attention to this increasingly common pathology.
Obesity – characterized by an increase in body weight due to adipose tissue – is not only a matter of physical appearance or weight control, but represents a medical condition that can have multiple repercussions on health. It can generate or worsen cardiovascular problems, endocrine problems, joint diseases, and even some forms of cancer. Also, obesity has a significant impact on the quality of life, being able to cause a decrease in self-confidence or social stigmatization.
According to existing data, globally, almost 1 billion people, i.e. 1 in 7 people, suffered from obesity in 2020. And estimates show that, by 2035, their number could reach 1.9 billion. As for children, those who tend to gain weight since kindergarten, uncontrolled – say specialists – tend to become obese before finishing secondary school. Among children, obesity is expected to increase by 100% between 2020 and 2035.
What is the situation in Romania? According to the National Institute of Public Health, 2 out of 100 people were diagnosed with obesity in the medical record in 2022. Regarding the new cases of the disease, also in 2022, most were registered in women and in the urban environment.
However, adopting a healthy lifestyle is not easy, that’s right, but not impossible either! At the individual level, the recommendations are to limit the intake of fats and sugar, to increase the consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains and nuts, as well as to regularly practice a physical activity of moderate intensity. A rest schedule and a lifestyle adapted to age, sex and emotional state are also needed. In short, a personalized program, as explained on Radio Romania by university lecturer. Dr. Lygia Alexandrescu, specialist in nutrition:
“The term <diet> appeared in ancient Greece, when the lifestyle called <daiata> was defined as a set of notions that involved sleep, therefore rest, hydration, food, movement, well-being… all these make up the <diet>. When we say, at this moment, <diet>, we mean food, but not WHAT we eat, but what we DON’T eat. When we talk about <diet> we talk about restriction, which is totally false. If we talk about food, we have to talk about what we need, what keeps our cells healthy, and then customization is very important. The same diet doesn’t work for everyone, so everything we see on the internet – the high-protein diet or the high-carb diet, or the rice diet or the apple diet, or other crazy things we see at the moment – all these diets are totally unbalanced. A diet that works for one person doesn’t work for another. What are the criteria? There are a lot of criteria that we take into account when it comes to drawing up a food plan. I wouldn’t even call it a diet, which is something restrictive, it’s something you keep long enough to get into a dress, long enough to fasten your shirt or belt more easily. What is related to food is related to lifestyle! And then we come back to custumization. Age, gender, the type of effort we make, the type of emotional state, genetics, current analysis, updated. The discussion with the attending physician, the discussion with the nutritionist, the discussion with the sports coach, all these lead to the formation of a personalized food schedule. No two diets should be the same. Just like medication, it needs to be customized.”
Some more specific tips? Eating unprocessed foods, 100 steps after a meal, good hydration, returning to traditional cuisine, with cooked meals… “When we eat food, especially in the second half of the day, in large quantities and in incorrect combinations, practically , we are aging.” – Lygia Alexandrescu draws attention:
“We don’t need to have the science of nutrition, we don’t need to have the science of food biochemistry! We need to know that we have energy to consume and we need to give the body fuel, good quality gasoline. And this can be done with foods very close to nature, as little processed as possible. Buying ready-made will obviously lead to weight gain, because it also has a lot of salt, contains fried ingredients, does not have the original quality of the food. There are a lot of details. It all comes back to education. As the Chinese say, if you want to have a healthy generation, educate the population for 30-40 years and then you will have a healthy generation. A rice crop is obtained from one year to another, healthy, balanced and complete people are obtained through the education of generations.”
As, therefore, at a collective level, education in shaping the choices that people make in terms of healthy living is essential, the “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest launched, for example, the “Control obesity” campaign, through which people will be taught to eat healthy and exercise. It will take shape, this year, in 8 sessions of information, awareness, and medical education held in 8 cities of Romania. Each action in each city will be structured on two components: one addressed to the general public, the authorities and the media, another scientific, medical education addressed to medical professionals involved in the management of people with obesity. “Our goal is to highlight the fact that obesity is a public health problem that requires immediate and coordinated interventions. ” – says university professor. Dr. Cătălina Poiană, initiator of the “Control Obesity” campaign.
Without major and coordinated action, obesity rates will continue to rise and more and more people will die prematurely from obesity or one of the diseases that can be attributed to it. Moreover, chronic non-communicable diseases associated with obesity, which were once seen only in adults, are becoming more common at much younger ages. However, for the moment, no country in the world is on track to reach the goal of stopping the increase in the prevalence of obesity by 2030, as was established in 2013 by the World Health Organization. In other words, the urgency to act is great!