It's a bad pun, to be sure. But more importantly, it's a health trend that means trouble for those patients affected and for society as a whole.
Obesity is on the rise worldwide at an alarming rate in both developed and less-developed countries.
Despite the high prevalence of obesity and the advances in our understanding of how it develops, management strategies have failed to achieve long-term success. Part of the problem is certainly that family doctors and other primary care health professionals often do not view obesity as a serious medical condition. Also, many doctors still believe that obesity is simply a matter of lacking will power and self-discipline, even though recent research has shown this concept to be outmoded. Researchers have yet to find all the answers as to the underlying biomedical causes of obesity, but environmental and cultural factors have been better documented. In less-developed countries, the image of prosperity and success is often associated with weight gain.