Russian healthcare professionals are facing an increase in the number of obese or overweight patients. They see the reason for this trend in the availability of fast food and the increase in the number of stressful situations. This is shown by a survey conducted by Aktion Medicine (part of the Aktion group), the results of which were reviewed by socialbites.ca.
While the majority of respondents (88%) say that such patients are increasing, 10% of healthcare professionals believe that the rate of obese patients has not changed from year to year, and 2% believe that these rates have decreased recently.
The vast majority (80 percent) believe the availability of fast food is to blame, 62 percent believe the increase in the number of stressful situations is responsible, 30 percent blame remote work hours, and 18 percent blame the consequences of COVID. -19 pandemic. Judging by the comments, some doctors believe that “product production standards have been lowered, it is necessary to return to standards from the times of the USSR” and that it is also necessary to “take antidepressants and antipsychotics that affect the endocrine system.” affects excess weight gain.
More than half (58%) of healthcare workers said health education could fix everything, 40% were confident that improving the quality of medical examinations would help, and 35% said it was necessary to increase excise taxes on goods that negatively affect health (sugar). beverages, tobacco, alcohol, etc. containing) ).
Comments from doctors indicate that the most important are health education and promotion of a healthy lifestyle, as well as wide access to materials on proper nutrition, improving the quality of clinical examinations, paid medical care and accessible psychological assistance.
“The obesity epidemic continues to spread actively around the world and is already ahead of the predictions made by experts two years ago. Russia is no exception, although in percentage terms we are somewhere in the middle of the global rankings: about 25% of obese women and 24% of men live in the country (obesity is defined in all studies as a body mass index of 30 kg/m2 and above). Therefore, doctors are the first to see the increase in the number of overweight and obese patients, especially in the outpatient setting. It is noteworthy that healthcare professionals also mention the lack of free time for sports due to high workload in their list of reasons. The majority of respondents believe in the power of health education; 58% of doctors and nurses believe that working more with patients, social advertising and other similar measures will help raise awareness and increase the number of normal weight patients. Some believe that only radical measures will work: a complete ban on the distribution of food in general and fast food in particular, fines for excess weight in the workplace or mandatory medical examinations. Some participants rightly note that until the patient himself wants to lose weight, nothing will change in his life,” commented Natalya Zhuravleva, a leading specialist at Aktion Medicine (part of the Aktion group).
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Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.