Hygiena 2024, 69(1):29-37 | DOI: 10.21101/hygiena.a1852

The obesity epidemic in adults and possible preventive measures in the Czech Republic

Dana Müllerová¹, Barbora Macková², Marie Nejedlá²

¹ Univerzita Karlova, Lékařská fakulta v Plzni, Ústav hygieny a preventivní medicíny, Plzeň, Česká republika

² Státní zdravotní ústav, Praha, Česká republika

Obesity is a chronic, progressive and recurrent disease that leads to a range of other health complications that impair quality of life and shorten its duration. From the pathophysiological perspective, it is the proliferation of adipose tissue in the body and its subsequent dysfunction, which contributes to immuno-metabolic alterations and damage to other organs and tissues. The increasing prevalence of this disease over the last 40 years has led to its current worldwide pandemic, which has not yet been successfully controlled. Obesity is thus also becoming an economic problem that hinders future development prosperity. The obesity pandemic is the result of rapidly changing lifestyles in an obesogenic environment over the last few decades, with obesity as a disease resulting from biological, behavioural and environmental interactions. Preventive efforts to influence the lifestyles of individuals have not been successful and the need for society-wide interventions aimed at changing the existing and building healthier living conditions is becoming increasingly apparent. The article provides an overview of options available in the Czech Republic.

Keywords: obesity prevention, intervention, lifestyle, nutrition, health literacy

Received: February 2024; Accepted: March 28, 2024; Published: March 31, 2024  Show citation