Nearly 8 million adults suffer from obesity in France, or 17% of the population. Overweight concerns an even larger population: 41% of men, and 25.3% of women.
Finally, 41.6% of French people and 48.5% of French women were in a situation of abdominal obesity in 2016, according to figures from the Constances cohort, a representative sample of 200,000 adults which is used to better understand public health issues. .
To fight against the effects of obesity, Professor Martine Laville, nutritionist at Lyon Sud hospital, calls for changes in the regulatory framework. “We are fighting for this definition, to have obesity recognized as a disease. Not only because it strongly affects the quality of life of patients but also because it has a major impact on their health, ”she explains.
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A “lack of support”
Professor Laville also believes that the recognition of obesity is necessary to allow “multidisciplinary management”: “While patients need dietary and psychological support, there is no support by the ‘Health insurance, she laments. Ditto concerning support for resuming physical activity. Only surgery is reimbursed. “
“This lack of care is a real problem, continues the nutritionist, especially since we know that obesity leads to the appearance of very serious comorbidities: type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, cardiovascular disease, depression. It would be necessary to be able to have quality care without waiting for complications. “
To this is added the gaze of others. “It is a stigmatizing disease, because obesity is a visible disease,” says Professor Laville. However, I think society’s outlook will gradually change, as more and more people are concerned with overweight and obesity. Hence the importance of finally putting in place real obesity prevention policies from an early age. “
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