Obesity predisposes to insulin resistance, which leads to type 2 diabetes. Additionally, the condition is associated with a number of other diseases
Obesity is a chronic disease that represents a serious public health problem. A study published by the World Obesity Federation (WOF) in March this year predicts that, by 2035, obese Brazilians will make up 41% of the population.
Currently, in Brazil there are approximately 41 million people over the age of 18 affected by obesity. The total corresponds to 26% of the population. In 2030, 29.7% of adults in the country are expected to be obese, which corresponds to approximately 47 million Brazilians.
It is worth noting that obesity is related to the development of at least 13 types of cancer and is one of the risk factors for the development of other diseases, such as asthma, headaches, orthopedic problems, increased cholesterol, hypertension and diabetes. The latter, in fact, is one of the main diseases that also affects the world population.
Relationship between diabetes and obesity
“Diabetes is a silent disease. This is because the first symptom is often due to some complication such as eye and vascular problems. Obesity predisposes to insulin resistance, leading to type 2 diabetes. The loss of 10-15% of weight helps control blood sugar,” explains Dr. Andrea Pereira, nutritionist at the Israelita Albert Einstein hospital and co-founder of the NGO Obesidade Brasil.
According to 2022 data from the tenth edition of the Diabetes Atlas, created by the International Diabetes Federation, 537 million adults aged between 20 and 79 are living with diabetes, or one in 10 people. A forecast indicates that this number will increase to 643 million in 2030 and 784 million in 2045. In 2021, diabetes was responsible for 6.7 million deaths, or 1 death every 5 seconds.
“It is common for the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes to be made late and generally when the person already has some type of complication or when seeking treatment for severe obesity. Furthermore, it must also be remembered that the correlation between diabetes and depression is very tight due to the patient’s inflammatory state”, says Andrea Levy, psychologist and president of the NGO Obesidade Brasil.
Bariatric surgery as a therapeutic option
It is worth pointing out that bariatric surgery is one way to treat these conditions, as studies have already shown that this procedure helps control not only diabetes, but also blood pressure.
According to bariatric surgeon Dr. Carlos Schiavon, study coordinator and coordinator of teaching and research at the Center for Obesity and Bariatric Surgery of the Beneficência Portuguesa in São Paulo, approximately 40% of the operated patients analyzed in one of the studies he managed to reduce the number of medications for hypertension, for example.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
