ŚThe World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises obesity as a chronic disease, in the same way as hypertension, type 2 diabetes or chronic respiratory diseases. This disease requires a high level of awareness on the part of the patient and its treatment should be multidisciplinary.
Obesity is a disease that arouses a lot of emotion and is the subject of stigmatisation. Is it always the result of laziness, the weak will of the patient?
Of course not! The vast majority of obesity cases are caused by an inappropriate lifestyle with a positive energy balance and then even a small imbalance (< 0.5%) between energy supplied from food and consumed causes weight gain. It is important to bear in mind all the secondary causes that induce obesity, such as environmental, genetic, endocrine, psychological and iatrogenic factors, including medication. However, people suffering from obesity often face negative perceptions from their environment and intolerance in the work environment, school or even family. It is most unfortunate when such stigmatisation, followed by discrimination, affects the patient in health care institutions, as it is we who should understand the nature of the obesity disease and the need to treat it. Many patients have been trying various diets and physical activities for years in an unsuccessful attempt to reduce their body weight. This makes them feel powerless, with low self-esteem, and this can demotivate them in seeking help and deciding on treatment. Many people treat it not as a disease, but as an aesthetic defect.
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