October 24, 2008: International Day against Obesity

 

The international day against obesity is celebrated on the 24th of October and with this opportunity the Institute of Preventive Medicine Environmental and Occupational Health, Prolepsis has issued this press release informing the public about this serious public health threat and also providing information on a relevant European project titled "Guidelines for the Prevention of Obesity at the Workplace"-The GPOW project.  During the last decades obesity has became a major public health problem of epidemic dimensions in the U.S.A and in Europe as well as in other developed and developing countries. According to WHO by the year 2015 two billion people, worldwide, will be overweight and more that 700 million people will be obese. In the U.S.A it is estimated that more than one third of the population are obese while in Europe the percentage of obesity has also risen dramatically reaching 30%.  Obesity in not only a matter of aesthetics but most seriously it causes various problems to human health. WHO characterizes obesity as a disease as it increases the danger of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, certain types of cancer and depression.  Obesity is a consequence of modern lifestyle. Social, environmental and individual factors contribute to the prevalence of this condition, the workplace included. The setting where more than half of the global population spends a quarter of their lives influences obesity as working conditions may affect eating habits and activity patterns. Likewise the workplace may increase existing obesity or may endanger the health and safety of people who are already obese.  GPOW aims to study the way that working conditions may influence people's weight. Moreover, it tries to evaluate the existing policies and practices concerning the prevention of obesity at a European level and also will develop a set of guidelines for the most effective way of preventing obesity at the workplace. The main goal of the project is to encourage policy makers to adopt practices that will help the prevention of obesity at the workplace.  The Institute of Preventive Medicine Environmental and Occupational Health, Prolepsis, is the coordinator of the project while research institutes and Universities from Germany, Italy, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania and Cyprus are the main partners. It is implemented in the framework of the Health Programme (2003-2008) of the DG Health and Consumer Protection of the European Commission. It is co-financed by the European Commission and Titan Cement Group and nine European countries.  For more information, you can call the Institute of Preventive Medicine Environmental and Occupational Health, Prolepsis, at 210 6255700 or visit the project's website www.gpow.eu.