Rome, 9 Oct. (askanews) – It is estimated that there are one billion obese or overweight people in the world, with alarming projections for the near future. In Italy, this condition affects 25 million people and every year there are approximately 57 thousand deaths due to obesity-related complications, including above all cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes, but not only. Obesity should be considered a chronic disease and should be included in the Essential Levels of Assistance. This is the message launched during the conference “Cardiovascular Risk. Fight against Obesity” organized in Rome by Motore Sanità, an opportunity for experts, stakeholders and institutional representatives to discuss.
"Obesity has become a social problem," Sebastiano Marra, Chief Emeritus of Città della Salute, told askanews, "a psycho-attitudinal problem, a problem of multifaceted diseases, of cardiovascular mortality that has more than doubled unfortunately in all nations, not only Western but also unfortunately in the third world, where the so-called disease of being underweight has almost disappeared and there too we have overweight. I believe that this catastrophic trend in our society, now that we have drugs that can correct it, must have political, economic and welfare measures to modify the unfortunate progression we are going towards."
Also of concern is the increase in childhood and adolescent obesity and the resulting risk of developing related diseases in adulthood.
"Obesity determines a higher incidence of ischemic cardiovascular events, heart failure, but also arrhythmic disorders such as atrial fibrillation, there is even a correlation with valvular diseases for example with aortic stenosis. Therefore - Pasquale Perrone Filardi, president of the Italian Society of Cardiology (SIC) declares to askanews - treating obesity means today we know with certainty reducing cardiovascular risk. We live longer and live without major cardiovascular events if we reduce our weight. Clearly lifestyle is fundamental, we must teach it also among young people because there is an increase in obesity and childhood overweight. In Italy, European estimates tell us that there is 1 obese person in 5 adults without counting overweight which is already starting to be a cardiovascular risk factor too".
If it is true, as emerged during the conference, that today there are valid therapies to combat obesity, prevention remains an essential step.
"Obesity with cardiovascular risk certainly constitutes a risk for individual citizens who can become patients - Fiaso president Giovanni Migliore declared to askanews - but above all, from our point of view, it can constitute a social problem because the damage linked to the effects due to cardiovascular accidents then evidently reflect on what is our National Health Service on what is the community and are therefore damages to society. We must intervene earlier, we must ensure that our children play sports and take care of their health but above all for young adults it is necessary to increase their awareness of social responsibility".
On this topic Motore Sanità will organize a Road Map that will touch Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Puglia and Sicily to take stock of the situation and identify concrete actions.