MONTREAL (PasseportSanté.net) June 3, 2005 – “Obesity is not just an individual problem. It is high time that society, school, workplace and the food industry came together to create a supportive environment for adults and children suffering from overweight and obesity. We must give them the means and the education that will enable them to resist the current obesogenic environment. ”. This is the heart of the message delivered by Dr Jong-Wook Lee, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), as part of a day entitled “Health and globalization: the challenge of prevention”, which was held in Montreal during the International Economic Forum of Americas1.
A global crisis
“There are currently 1.5 billion overweight and obese people in the world, and it is estimated that in 2000, these health problems caused 2.6 million deaths. In addition, we know that chronic diseases, of which obesity is one of the causes, will soon cause more deaths and disabilities than infectious diseases ”, warned Dr Lee.
A finding also made by Simon Barquera Cervera, director of the Department of Nutrition and Chronic Diseases of the National Institute of Public Health of Mexico. “Our country is grappling with both the problems of malnutrition which persist in rural areas, and the problems of overweight and obesity which are increasing rapidly in the more developed areas. Our observations clearly indicate that the shift from a traditional high-grain, low-fat diet to a high-fat Western-style diet has increased the prevalence of heart disease in our country. And unfortunately, we also observe that, even in the less developed regions, the consumption of fat is increasing. “
The poor are more vulnerable
“It is in countries with low and middle incomes that overweight and obesity increase most rapidly. In developing countries, the burden of diabetes and heart disease is added to that of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, which puts intolerable pressure on their health system ”, also underlined Dr Lee.
Several speakers highlighted the link between poverty and obesity, including Adam Drewnowski, director of the University of Washington Center for Public Health and Nutrition. According to him, there is no doubt that obesity is the consequence of the globalization of the economy, because the latter contributes to impoverish people. “But who makes them poor? The culprits are not Pepsi or McDonald’s, but rather companies like Wal-Mart, which contribute to the poverty of their employees, ”he said.
Pr In particular, Drewnowski demonstrated that in the Seattle area there is a direct link between home values and the incidence of obesity. “In places where properties are worth $ 745,000 and over, less than 6% of people are obese, but where they are worth $ 150,000, the prevalence is 23%,” he pointed out. ‘support. He also insisted that, unfortunately, a healthy diet costs more than a diet high in calories. “Price surveys show that at the same calorie content, vegetables and fruit cost much more than fatty and sugary foods, and this is mainly due to the fact that sugar and fats, such as olive oil, soybeans, are very inexpensive to manufacture, ”he explained.
Is global consultation possible to curb obesity?
“We absolutely must work together on this health problem: government, industry, commerce, health professionals and consumers. If we each work on our own, we will not achieve much and the cost will be very high. The industry must take responsibility and realize that it is also about its own long-term prosperity, ”warned Dr Lee, the director general of the WHO.
Dr Angelo Tremblay, holder of the Canada Research Chair in physical activity, nutrition and energy balance, however, expressed some skepticism as to the possibility that we can really reconcile the interests of health and those of international trade.
After presenting scientific evidence that insufficient sleep and excess stress can induce hormonal changes causing weight gain, he ended his presentation by saying, “Is obesity a problem? side effect of globalization? I would be tempted to say yes, for certain vulnerable individuals who are exposed to a fierce context, likely to induce hormonal changes resulting in overweight. It is very likely that tackling the obesity pandemic will continue to be difficult until the visions of the World Health Organization outweigh those of the World Trade Organization. ”
Françoise Ruby – PasseportSanté.net
1. The “Obesity, Confronting Reality” day was presented in Montreal on Tuesday, May 31, 2005 as part of the International Economic Forum of the Americas, an event usually focused on the themes of economic development, trade and human rights. finance. This day was organized in collaboration with the Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation *, and with the participation of McGill University in Montreal, and brought together a range of experts of international caliber.
* PasseportSanté.net is supported by the Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation.
