“Reduce the consumption of fats and sugars, and prioritize the fruits and vegetables as the base of daily food help prevent not only obesity but also cardiovascular diseases and diabetes,” said the Plan National Argentina healthy, Mario Virgolini, Coordinator in the context of obesity and food disorders seminar organized by the Argentina network of scientific journalism and sponsored by the national health portfolio. The official warned that “in the Argentina, the CNCD are responsible for more than 60% of annual deaths”.
The official added that “the population should be aware that we are in the presence of an epidemic of obesity that puts us at risk all”, and remarked that by its implication to global Chronic noncommunicable diseases (CNCDS) would be focus of the next Summit of Heads of State and Government convened by the Organization of the United Nationsthat he sesionará next week in New York
According to the latest national survey of risk factors (ENFR), conducted in 2009 by the Ministry of health of the nation, 53.4 per cent of the population overweight. Obesity rose from 14.6% in 2005 to 18 year 2009, while overweight remained in 35.4 per cent
In addition, the study detected that physical inactivity increased significantly, from 46.2% in 2005 to 54.9 last year. With regard to food, sampling indicated that only 4.8 per cent consumes daily five portions of fruit and vegetables, 25.4 per cent always add salt to meals.
The meeting had a boarding interdiscliplinario where specialists analysed the problem of obesity from the different dimensions. In this sense, anthropologist of the Nutrition Department of the National Directorate of maternity and children of the Ministry of health of the nation, Patricia Aguirre noted that “obesity is a social problem where it is necessary to change food and sporting behaviour” and added that “today interested in the sport is to look at games from different sports disciplines but does not mean the person to perform physical activity”.
In both, Marcelo Rubinstein, researcher at Conicet and Professor in the Department of Physiology, Molecular and cellular biology of the Faculty of exact and natural sciences at the University of Buenos Aires, presented a paper on “Genes and culture: an evolutionary perspective of our apetitiva conduct”, in which he emphasized that “the technological advance allows at some point the development of obesity””, because it provides man very effective methods of food storage and gives you easy access to any type of food. The expert considered that “while scientific research can develop treatments against malaria, the change must be in human behavior”.
The meeting participated also the Co-Director of the Graduate School of the Argentina society of obesity and food disorders, Julio Montero, who argued that “healthy nutrition should be based on natural foods and processed products must be consumed sporadically”, and added that “20% of school-age children have extra kilos”.
On the other hand, the Chief of service of Bariatric Surgery and metabolic of the Fundación Favaloro, Oscar Brasesco, explained that “the majority of patients who undergo a bariatric surgery – which is the set of surgical procedures used to treat obesity – lose between 80 and 85% of weight and not it recover throughout life”said the specialist, but he clarified that “while the surgery is very effective, it is essential to understand that the solution to obesity is in the nutritional prevention”.
