Obesity is considered invariably ominous for health, trusting that limits, defined by epidemiology, are the gold standards, alone, for healthy weight, obesity, and risks for diseases. Nonetheless, under several conditions, being overweight appears “protective” (the obesity paradox), at least against renal and heart failure. This issue is strongly debated, but we lack still a good definition of the healthy overweight, if any. Moreover, obesity is regarded as an exclusive consequence of an imbalance between food intake and physical exercise, modulated by endocrine and genetic factors. Economists and, obviously, epidemiologists cite environment, but they omit the evidence that environmental infections, and notably adipogenic adenovirus infections in humans, are associated with obesity, being causative factors of obesity and consequent disease in animals. Despite there is still limited epidemiological information, even based on extensive human investigations in different parts of the world. the time has come for the medical community to become more organized and proactive in engaging the public and the food industry to emphasize the health hazards associated with obesity: we must seek solutions to the problem without bias and explore these and other neglected fields, such as the quality of nutritional profiles, in which considerable evidence is already available.
The Challenge of Obesity: can we look to the moon instead of the finger?
TROVATO, Guglielmo;CATALANO, Daniela;
2013-01-01
Abstract
Obesity is considered invariably ominous for health, trusting that limits, defined by epidemiology, are the gold standards, alone, for healthy weight, obesity, and risks for diseases. Nonetheless, under several conditions, being overweight appears “protective” (the obesity paradox), at least against renal and heart failure. This issue is strongly debated, but we lack still a good definition of the healthy overweight, if any. Moreover, obesity is regarded as an exclusive consequence of an imbalance between food intake and physical exercise, modulated by endocrine and genetic factors. Economists and, obviously, epidemiologists cite environment, but they omit the evidence that environmental infections, and notably adipogenic adenovirus infections in humans, are associated with obesity, being causative factors of obesity and consequent disease in animals. Despite there is still limited epidemiological information, even based on extensive human investigations in different parts of the world. the time has come for the medical community to become more organized and proactive in engaging the public and the food industry to emphasize the health hazards associated with obesity: we must seek solutions to the problem without bias and explore these and other neglected fields, such as the quality of nutritional profiles, in which considerable evidence is already available.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.