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Investigating the effect of environmental factors on the development of obesity

Pantelidis Ioannis

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Summary

Obesity is one of the biggest modern health problems in the world. Although initially seen as a problem in rich countries, it has become a health challenge around the world. It can be considered that, it is a chronic complex disease defined by excessive fat deposits that can harm health (WHO). One more of its definitions is having a high body mass index (BMI). It is a risk factor for many of the leading causes of death in the world, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, various types of cancer, etc. It is considered one of the important causes of death, 6th in order of ranking among the general causes of death (e.g. hypertension, air pollution, smoking, etc.). It is estimated that around 5 million people died prematurely in 2019 as a result of obesity, 10% of all deaths (from various causes) and nearly double the number in 1990. In high-income countries, the share of deaths attributable to it (2019) ranges from 8 to 10%, while in middle-income countries (such as Eastern Europe, Central Asia, North Africa and Latin America), this proportion is almost double. This results from both the high prevalence of obesity and the poorer overall health and healthcare systems these countries have compared to high-income countries with similarly high levels of obesity. Finally, in many low-income countries (especially in sub-Saharan Africa) it is estimated that obesity is responsible for less than 5% of deaths. In this diploma thesis, an attempt is made to study this important problem of obesity and to examine its possible correlation with various factors (variables). More specifically, in the 1st chapter obesity is defined, its prevalence around the world is mentioned, the ways of measuring and determining it are described (older and newer approaches). Chapter 2 is devoted to childhood obesity (causes, models, and therapeutic approaches). Chapter 3 refers to the causes of obesity, the ways of diagnosing it and its effects on human health. Chapter 4 contains statistical data/results related to obesity (number of deaths, number of overweight people per country, etc.). Obesity, apart from genetic factors, may also be related to environmental (factors). Chapter 5, which is the most important of this paper, examines the possible correlation of the number of deaths due to it with a number of factors (pollution, country health systems, health expenditure, fat consumption, etc.). In the 6th and last part of thesis, the conclusions of the paper are given.

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