La epidemia de obesidadUn reto del siglo XXI

Résumé

Obesity is currently considered a real public health problem all around the world, with devastating humanitarian, social and economic consequences. This is due to its high prevalence, which is reaching epidemic proportions, and its high morbidity and mortality rates. Therefore, it is a threat to human health and global economy. It is not easy to determine the reasons that have led to the epidemiological emergence of this clinical situation during the last decades. It is thought to be dependent on several factors and, fundamentally, on the complex interrelation between genes and the environment. The action plan against obesity include healthy diet patterns in both food and drink (advising the Mediterranean diet) with adequate caloric intake to cope with a sedentary lifestyle, being this particularly relevant in the case of children. The fight against obesity is one of the most important public health challenges for the world community in this century.