Obesity: where did it come from and what to do with it?
Vasily Vlasov: "There are no magic remedies for obesity"
Interview preparation: Anastasia Novak, <url>On March 2, the ProScience Theater will host a lecture by epidemiologist Vasily Vlasov on the topic: "Obesity: where did it come from and what to do with it?"
The scientist shared with "Polit.ru" is far from a rosy picture of the existence and treatment of this disease.
Photo: Natasha Chetverikova/<url>
– Why did you choose the topic of obesity for your speech this time?
– This is the most relevant topic: firstly, obesity is becoming more and more, secondly, people are more and more worried about this - it is a subjectively significant topic, and, thirdly, various remarkable discoveries are constantly being made in this area. In particular, it has recently become known that obesity is caused by special microbes. Among other things, this disease is a very interesting direction for various groups of people who are struggling to maintain health: they come up with all sorts of diets and useless medicines. Diets are, of course, a separate independent topic, but as applied to obesity, I will also talk about them.
– What are the differences between obesity and overweight?
– To put it simply, obesity is when there is a lot of excess weight, and overweight is when there is little, but compared to obesity. Overweight is the degree of obesity, not the stage, because the stage implies that it will necessarily be followed by another, worse (in this case, obesity), and this is not necessary at all. Unfortunately, most people die before they reach obesity.
– It is known that residents of the United States suffer most from this disease. It's true?
– There are really a lot of overweight people in the USA now. But this is not their main problem. Now it is more accurate to say that all countries are becoming obese, but at different rates. This happens very quickly in those countries where people are starting to live well, where food is not limited. This is actively happening in Asian and African countries with average and higher incomes of the population, including in Russia.
– What ways are there to protect people from obesity: instructions, lectures, publications?
– There are no effective ways to lose weight that are suitable for everyone. But there seems to be a working way not to get fat. It is believed that if people limit themselves in nutrition and move a lot, then they should not get fat. But this rule does not work for everyone. Obesity is too serious a problem to be solved only by the recommendation "eat less".
– Do you think a person suffering from obesity should contact a professional center or can come to the district polyclinic for advice?
– A person who thinks that he is overweight, first of all should think about whether he is leading the right lifestyle and try to correct it. If he is not sure that he understands correctly how to do this, then thanks to our Government we have Health Centers at ordinary polyclinics – you can start going there. Well, if obesity has really reached a serious degree, then a person needs to go to an appointment with an endocrinologist in order to make sure that it's just obesity. After all, a large body weight can mean other, much more dangerous diseases.
– Are there any dangers for a person cured of obesity?
– The most important of them is to expect to be able to get rid of obesity. In fact, there are no means that help to do this radically and permanently. Even surgical interventions can be performed, but they have limited effectiveness and side effects. There are simply no magic remedies.
– My lecture can be considered as the beginning of the path to understanding the situation, general advice, an interesting story, but you should not expect a recipe from her on how to lose weight.
Vasily Vlasov's speech will take place at the Central House of the journalist at the address: Arbatskaya metro station, Nikitsky Boulevard, 8a. Beginning at 19:00.
Tickets can be purchased on the websites kassir.ru , ponominalu.ru , timepad.ru and bigbilet.ru .
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru17.02.2015