3.7 million Austrians over 15 years of age have an increased body weight, which makes them sick. That is more than half of the adult population and could increase due to side effects of the corona pandemic. “Obesity is a disease in which many factors play a role,” said Joakim Huber, President of the Obesity Society ÖAG, in a broadcast on Wednesday. But there is also a growing variety of prevention and treatment options.
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Of the almost four million people affected in Austria, 35 percent are overweight with a body mass index (BMI) from 25 and 16.5 are obese (BMI from 30). The pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk reported on the occasion of World Obesity Day on Thursday based on figures from Statistics Austria and the World Health Organization (WHO). Obesity is therefore a major problem even in childhood. By the age of eight, every third boy and every fourth girl are overweight or obese.
“What matters is the individual environment of those affected. The so-called 'obesity environment' describes all the factors that induce obese people to make decisions that lead to a calorie surplus. To advise those affected that they 'just' eat less and themselves should move more is therefore not sufficient, “reported Huber, head of the department for internal medicine at Franziskus Spital in Vienna.
“The basis for successful and sustainable weight reduction is a change in lifestyle and behavior. This includes an analysis of the individual environment as well as several consultations on changing eating habits and increasing physical activity,” emphasized Huber. All available treatment options should be tailored to the patient by several specialists. In addition to the lifestyle change as a basis, this also includes drug and surgical options.
“There are already several effective therapies on the market, and research is making rapid progress. Our aim is to help obese people achieve a healthy body weight and protect them from weight-related diseases and complications,” said Andreas Rothensteiner, Medical Director at Novo Nordisk Austria . Although obesity has complex causes, obese people are still stigmatized and often receive medical help much too late. The pharmaceutical company warned that this would be at the expense of those affected, health insurance companies and the economy.
Access to modern and innovative therapy options is more difficult in Austria compared to neighboring countries. For example, costs for treatments to prevent escalating overweight or acute obesity are usually to be borne by oneself. According to the OECD, the industrialized countries lose around 3.3 percent of their gross domestic product through obesity, the broadcast explained. Overweight and obesity make you unable to work, the result being lost work and early retirement.
