It is the new European Report of the World Health Organization (WHO) that captures the situation. Disturbing data
A silent but constant advance. Which was also able to take advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has been biting for over two years now. It is not Covid, but it affects more than Covid and more than the other emergency, which concerns acute hepatitis. The World Health Organization says so.
It has become a veritable epidemic, which also takes a heavy toll in terms of lives. In Europe, in particular, it is pressing. And it is above all the lifestyles that are contagious, just like it happens for Covid.
It is the new European Report of the World Health Organization (WHO) that captures the situation. In the Old Continent, 59% of adults and almost 30% of children are affected (29% among males and 27% among females). Pathology that causes more than 1.2 million deaths a year, corresponding to over 13% of total mortality in the area.
A serious disease in itself, but one that causes others, even more lethal. In fact, the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases increases. It is also considered to be a cause of at least 13 different types of cancer and experts believe it is likely to be directly responsible for at least 200,000 new cancer cases per year across the region.
The alarm from the World Health Organization
As we said, the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic played the very important role in aggravating a situation that was already very compromised. These are the overweight and obesity rates affecting Europe.
“There have been unfavorable changes in food consumption and physical activity patterns that will affect the health of the population for years to come and will require significant effort” to reverse them. ” The scientists’ sentence.
WHO report finds overweight and obesity rates have reached epidemic proportions across the region and are still rising: “None of the 53 states” in this area of the world “are currently on track to reach the WHO target on noncommunicable diseases”, which calls for a halt to the growth of ‘oversize’ by 2025, it is noted.
“Tackling obesity is fundamental to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and is a priority also mentioned in the WHO European Work Program 2020-2025”, recalls the UN Health Agency. Scientists, therefore, are calling for policy interventions that can impact the environmental and commercial contributing causes of poor nutrition, to reverse the obesity epidemic and tackle food inequalities.
Between suggested policies, fiscal interventions such as sugar taxes and subsidies for healthy foods; restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy foods to children; improving access to obesity and overweight management services in primary health care, as part of universal health coverage; efforts to improve diet and physical activity throughout life, including pre-conception and pregnancy for women; and further efforts to promote breastfeeding, interventions at school and to create environments that improve access to healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity.