In the complex world of intimate relationships, emotional and physical connection play a crucial role. However, according to Adriana Martinexpert in nutrition and healthy living, being overweight can present significant challenges in this areaaffecting both personal self-esteem and couple dynamics.
Adriana Martin does not hesitate to point out that Being overweight can create an emotional barrier in intimate relationships and explained in La Mesa Caliente that when a person does not feel full or secure in themselves due to their body weight, this insecurity can manifest itself in the intimate sphere.
The ideal would be to say ‘it does not affect’, but we have to be frank, it does affect. When we are overweight, that not only affects the person, but also the intimacy part. “If a woman does not feel complete and secure in herself, there are many situations where the couple begins to feel that distance because there is a barrier that is often emotional.”
Adriana Martin
Obesity, the most common form of malnutrition
More than one billion people, or one in eight on the planet, suffer from obesityaccording to a study by the World Health Organization (WHO) published this Friday by the specialized magazine The Lancet, which warns that This chronic disease has become the most common form of malnutrition.
The study, with data from more than 190 countries and prepared in collaboration with Imperial College London, indicates that Among children and adolescents in the world, the obesity rate in 2022 was four times higher than in 1990while, among adults, this rate doubled in women and almost tripled in men.
“Obesity figures have stabilized in many rich countries, but they are increasing rapidly in other parts of the world such as Asia or Latin America,” said one of its authors, the Imperial College professor, when presenting the study. Majid Ezzati.
Almost 160 million children are overweight
The report estimates that some 159 million children and adolescents between 5 and 19 years old suffered from obesity in 2022, a figure that in adults rose to 879 million people, which means that 43% of the world’s adult population that year was overweight.
“It is very worrying that the obesity epidemic that was evident among adults in much of the world in the 1990s is now also reflected in children and adolescents.”
Majid Ezzati
The study also shows that between 1990 and 2022 the proportion of children affected by underweight (low weight in relation to age) decreased by a fifth among girls and by more than a third among boys, while among adults it decreased by more than half during this same period.
The increase in obesity levels added to this decrease in the number of underweight people since 1990 has made overweight the most common form of malnutrition in most countries.
However, “insufficient nutrition and obesity are two sides of the same problem, the lack of access to healthy diets,” said the director of the WHO Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, Francesco Branca.
Branca recalled that while insufficient nutrition puts many children at greater risk of illness and death, especially in regions such as East Africa or South Asia, Obesity can lead to cardiovascular diseases, diabetes or even some types of cancer.
Differences between countries and continents
According to the data collected, The countries with the highest prevalence of obesity in 2022 are the Pacific and Caribbean archipelagoswhere about two-thirds of adults are obese.
On the European continent, the United Kingdom saw its obesity rate increase from 13.8% in 1990 to 28.3% in 2022 for women and from 10.7% to 26.9% for men, with a prevalence of obesity that ranked 87th in the world for women and 55th for men in 2022.
At the opposite pole, China ranked 190th in the world for womenthe eleventh lowest in the world ranking, and 149th place for men, the 52nd lowest, in 2022.
Branca stressed the need for prevention policies to reduce obesity, and in this sense cited the progress that Countries like France or Spain have managed to reduce the overweight of women in the country.
Global crises, a risk factor for obesity
According to the doctor Guha Pradeepaco-author of the study, current global problems such as climate change, disruptions caused by the pandemic or Conflicts can worsen global rates of both forms of malnutritionby increasing poverty and the cost of nutrient-dense foods.
In this situation, The experts assured that it is necessary to implement comprehensive policies to address these challengessuch as regulations on the marketing of harmful foods and drinks aimed at children.
They also recommend initiatives to regulate the sale of products high in fat, sugar and salt near schoolsor pricing and nutritional labeling policies to promote healthier diets.
The director general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesusrecalled that achieving global obesity reduction goals will require the joint work of governments, communities and national public health organizations, as well as the cooperation of the private sector, which “must be accountable for the health repercussions of its actions.” products”.
(With information from EFE)
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