One in every three Turkish adults is obese: Expert

ANKARA

Türkiye is the country with the highest obesity prevalence in Europe, while one out every three adults are obese in the country, an expert has said.

Prof. Dr. Alper Sönmez, an expert on endocrinology and metabolic diseases, stated that excessive adipose tissue reduces the quality of life and causes many chronic metabolic diseases and cancer. As the amount of adipose tissue in the body increases, control of these diseases becomes more difficult, and more medications need to be used in higher doses.

Giving information about the causes of obesity, Sönmez also drew attention to the changing lifestyles of people, saying that a person’s body weight is also affected by social and environmental factors and is not completely under their control.

According to Sönmez, modern life leads people to take in more calories and move less. Genetic predisposition, environmental stress factors or poor-quality sleep are among the most common causes of obesity. In addition, some hormonal and chronic diseases and medications used for their treatment can cause obesity.

Stressing that Türkiye has the highest prevalence of obesity in Europe, Sönmez said studies also show it is more common in women and in individuals with middle and low socioeconomic status.

“Weight control facilitates the treatment of many diseases and when sufficient weight loss is achieved, it is possible to definitively treat many diseases that make life difficult. In the treatment of obesity, it is as important to maintain the weight lost as it is to lose weight in a healthy way. In this process, nutrition therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, exercise therapy, medical treatment and, if necessary, surgical treatments should be applied according to need.”