Os números da obesidade no Brasil: uma reflexão sobre causas, impactos e enfrentamento

Abstract

Obesity, a multifactorial chronic disease, is defined as an accumulation of abnormal or excessive fat that can be harmful to health, affecting people of all social groups and ages. It is contemporary, being spread in developed and developing countries around the world. Its occurrence causes, in addition to the consequences of obesity itself on quality of life and health, the development of other comorbidities that are associated with it. Heart disease, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, cancer and mental illnesses are triggered or worsened by the presence of obesity. Among the causes of the pathology are the increase in the rate of sedentary lifestyle and the maintenance of eating habits increasingly rich in ultra-processed foods with high levels of sugar, fat and sodium. Likewise, the analysis of the social determinants of obesity is addressed, which contributes to the development of reflections and promotion of the identification of effective solutions to issues that refer to gender, race, level of education, economic inequality and other situations, given that the intensity of chronic non-communicable diseases such as obesity varies according to certain contexts. Based on the aspects mentioned, the objective of this study is to carry out a bibliographical review addressing the main definitions, numbers, projections, causes, impacts and treatment measures available to combat obesity in the country. This is a literature review with searches in online databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed and SciELO, as well as websites of the World Health Organization, Pan American Health Organization and Ministry of Health. The selection criteria were scientific productions with freely available texts, in English and Portuguese and with the time frame of the most accessed publications in recent years. It can be concluded that so far, it is not possible to observe a decrease in the numbers of overweight and obesity in the country. The social determinants of obesity such as gender, social class, income and educational level, for example, must be debated in order to establish strategies to combat the pathology in the population. State intervention with the development of public policies is crucial in the advancement and promotion of a society with healthy habits and which has as one of its pillars the quality of life and effective reduction in obesity rates and its associated diseases.