Nearly 30% of Costa Ricans will be obese by 2015, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO). There is a great deal of misinformation around the causes of obesity and how to combat it as more and more Costa Ricans are packing on the extra kilos.
The Social Security Fund (CCSS) estimated that an obese person costs the institution between 6 and 10 million colones, not counting the treatments for diseases associated with obesity. This year the company will spend 3.336 million colones on surgeries to combat the morbidly overweight.
According to WHO, in most Latin American countries the number of obese people is expected to double in the coming years. “This report provides further evidence of the dramatic
increase in conditions that trigger heart disease and other chronic diseases, particularly in low-and middle-income countries,” said the director general of WHO, Margaret Chan.
Also, higher levels of obesity are recorded in the Americas, where 26% of adults are obese. In addition, 10% of school-age children (5 to 17 years) in the world are overweight.
Following the countries assessments, the WHO stated that obesity is a risk factor for developing certain diseases such as: heart disease, diabetes and hypertension. Additionally, it was determined that 80% of the deaths occur by this type of disease. These conditions are also the cause of other illnesses that is begining to overwhelm health services across the region and increasingly affect younger people.
Meanwhile, the researchers conclude that there are no good or bad foods, only bad balanced diets. In many cases it was observed that people tend to serve more food than they should without taking into account the impact that it has on their health.
The endocrinologist Salvadoran Carlos Alvayero, adds that “the weight is a balance between intake and expenditure of calories, so a food group cannot be the cause of obesity, but rather, the total daily calories consumed exceeding caloric expenditure of each person “.
The specialist added that obesity can be reversed, but that it requires a lot of discipline to change eating habits and a lifestyle that includes changes to the amounts of food eaten, along with a regularly exercise routine.
The Costa Rica News (TCRN)
San Jose Costa Rica
