Starting his speech with what obesity is and what problems it causes, Assoc. Dr. Barış Sarıakçalı said, “Obesity, which is accepted as a complex and multifactorial disease that adversely affects health, is the second most important cause of preventable deaths after smoking. Obesity, cardiovascular diseases, especially type 2 diabetes and prediabetes, hypertension (HT), hyperlipidemia (HL), cerebrovascular disease, various cancers, obstructive sleep-apnea syndrome, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, gastroesophageal reflux, biliary tract disease, It increases health expenditures by causing many health problems such as polycystic ovary syndrome, infertility, osteoarthrosis and depression. Obesity develops with excessive fat accumulation in the body secondary to high energy intake.
TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS INCREASE OBESITY
Referring to the causes of obesity, Sarıakçalı said that technological tools increase obesity and said, “The main reasons for the increase in obesity prevalence are; Especially with the developing technology in transportation, entertainment, production and agriculture sectors, the decrease in physical activity secondary to the facilitation of the lifestyle and the increase in energy intake as a result of the rapid change in dietary habits. One of the most important factors leading to obesity is unhealthy foods that are eaten fast (fast food), rich in refined carbohydrates, poor in vegetable fiber, excessively fatty, energy-intensive diet. It has been suggested that nutrition in the first years of life, especially the inability to be fed with breast milk, paves the way for the development of obesity in the future. In addition, the widespread use of advanced technological tools (smartphones, television, computers, tablets, home theaters, etc.) that easily fill free time contributes significantly to the increase in obesity.
“IMMEDIATE ACTION PLANS NEEDED TO BE CREATED”
Sharing the statistics about our country, Assoc. Dr. Sarıakçalı mentioned that an emergency action plan should be created in this regard, “The prevalence of obesity in the adult population in our country has exceeded the critically high rate of 30 percent. Although the prevalence of obesity is higher in women, the rapid increase in men in recent years also draws attention. TURDEP-II (Turkey Diabetes mellitus) In the Epidemiology study, the prevalence of obesity was found to be 35 percent (44 percent for women, 27 percent for men) in the general population.It was stated that Turkey ranks first in obesity in Europe.The obesity rate in the adult population given by OECD countries is approximately 19.5-20 percent. Turkey is above this. One out of every 3 adults in Turkey is obese. There are 650 million obese, 1 billion 9 million overweight in the world. 20 million of the adult population in Turkey are obese, more than that are overweight. 60-65 percent of the adult population In our country, which is known to be overweight and obese, the Ministry of Health should create emergency action plans on obesity.