Obesity: Why Bother?

Abstract

Obesity is a global epidemic. The consequences of this explosion can be extrapolated with horrifying prevalence data to be anticipated in the near future. Although a reduced incidence may possibly have been seen, there have never been so many obese individuals on earth as today. More people on earth now die of overnutrition rather than undernutrition. Obesity is closely related to a number of comorbidities, type 2 diabetes generally coming first, but more and more diseases affecting practically every organ system have been found to be associated. Our genes remain essentially unchanged, whereas the environment has been dramatically altered during the last decades. Physical activity demands become smaller and smaller with mechanization. The food industry is responsible for having created a “toxic” environment. These facts are constantly reiterated but have become so trivial that it seems a waste of space and paper to ruminate them. We know about them, and did so several decades ago, and so the crucial question remains: Why has so little happened?