The Obesity is a complex chronic disease. Much fat can cause inflammation and other long-lasting metabolic changes in the body. These changes increase the risk of many serious health problems. Risks increase with the more excess weight a person carries and the longer a person carries that weight. Our aim is to elucidate its hazards and warn new generations especially not to pay its lasting toll.

Obesity is a complex chronic disease. Much fat can cause inflammation and other long-lasting metabolic changes in the body. These changes increase the risk of many serious health problems. Risks increase with the more excess weight a person carries and the longer a person carries that weight. Obesity also hinders military readiness[1] It’s prevalent even in Europe as in the picture of this man[2] The first mention of doctors in recorded history comes from Egypt’s Old Kingdom[3] Also, the first mention of term obesity was by Randle Cotgrave in 1611, it is derived from Latin obesitas, which means “stout, fat or plump”. Esus is past participle of edere (to eat), with ob (over) added to it according the Oxford English Dictionary[4]

Viewpoints:

Obesity epidemic, developed in recent decades with global dissemination, brings scientific interest in causes and consequences for mankind. It is of interest whether obesity existed under different, non-obesogenic environments in ancient time. There is evidence for particular obesity existence in artefacts and pictures from caves, originated in ancient times. Human female figurines from Stone Age that represent obesity were discovered in different countries indicating that some form of obesity existed 30.000 years ago. It is supposed that most of these figures represent in some way “Mother of Goddess “connected with fertility. Records from Ancient Egyptian and Biblical eras through Greco-Roman to Medieval times indicate that obesity was present throughout peoples of previous centuries in history, although they probably have overweight and obesity as exceptional rather than normal. [4] Risks for adults include: impact joint and bone  health as osteoarthritis, chronic kidney disease and impaired immune function[1] In 2022, 1 in 8 people in the world were living with obesity. Worldwide adult obesity has more than doubled since 1990, and adolescent obesity has quadrupled. In 2024, 35 million children under the age of 5 were overweight. Over 390 million children and adolescents aged 5–19 years were overweight in 2022, including 160 million who were living with obesity. Obesity is classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a chronic, relapsing disease arising from complex interactions between genetics, neurobiology, eating behavior, access to healthy diet, market forces, and the broader environment. In the last decades, obesity has expanded globally as countries have experienced greater food security, socioeconomic development, and shifts in diet, physical activity, and societal and individual behavior driven by globalization and industrialized food systems. These forces have created increasingly obesogenic environment, contributing to what is now a global public health crisis with more than 1 billion people living with obesity and prevalence rising in nearly every country. A diagnosis of overweight or obesity is made by measuring people’s weight and height and by calculating the body mass index (BMI): weight (kg)/height² (m²). WHO defines overweight as a BMI greater than or equal to 25; and obesity as a BMI greater than or equal to 30. Overweight and obesity result from an imbalance of energy intake (diet) and energy expenditure (physical activity). In most cases obesity is a multifactorial disease due to environmental and psycho-social factors and genetic variants. In a subgroup of patients, single major etiological factors can be identified (e.g. medications, diseases, immobilization, iatrogenic procedures, and monogenic disease/genetic syndrome). Key environmental factors are those that limit the availability of healthy and sustainably-produced food at locally affordable prices, spaces for physical activity and the absence of adequate legal and regulatory environments.  In 2021, higher-than-optimal BMI caused 3.7 million deaths from non- communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers, neurological disorders, chronic respiratory diseases, and digestive disorders. Being overweight in childhood and adolescence is associated with greater risk and earlier onset of various NCDs, such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Childhood and adolescent obesity affects school performance and quality of life, compounded by stigma, discrimination and bullying. Children with obesity are very likely to become adults with obesity. The economic impacts of the obesity epidemic are also important. If nothing is done, the global costs of overweight and obesity are predicted to reach US$ 3 trillion per year by 2030 and more than US$ 18 trillion by 2060[5] Increased risk of complications during surgery, anesthesia-related complications, increased length of hospital stays, increased risk of post-operative infections and risk of tearing. [6] Various endoscopic bariatric therapies for weight reduction, such as intragastric balloons (IGBs), aspiration therapy (AT), small bowel endoscopy, endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty, endoluminal procedures, malabsorption endoscopic procedures, and methods of regulating gastric emptying, were explored. IGBs, AT, and small bowel endoscopy have short-term effects with a possibility of weight regain. Minor adverse events have occurred; however, all procedures reduce weight. Vomiting and nausea are common side effects, although serious complications have also been observed [7].

The submitted work significance is to show the new generations that normal BMI is not luxury and declare obesity’s deleterious effect on all body systems, even with surgery and different treatment modalities so they should be warned to avoid paying its lasting toll.

Thanks to any one helps to convey our message to the public.