A falsehood that has been repeated many times becomes true, the origin of the diabesity pandemic, the most lethal of the 21st century?

Abstract

The malnutrition pandemic has reached alarming proportions in the 21st century, with nearly 860 million people suffering from obesity, almost 1.8 billion overweight, and around 900 million experiencing malnutrition due to macronutrient and micronutrient deficiencies worldwide. This issue affects over 40% of the global population, highlighting a concerning prevalence of malnutrition worldwide and its close association with chronic diseases. With eight out of 10 leading causes of global mortality being non-communicable diseases, predominantly of cardiometabolic origin, the malnutrition pandemic has become a serious threat to global health. This phenomenon has been exacerbated by the parallel increase in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, leading to the coining of the term "diabesity" to describe the interaction between diabetes and obesity, considered the deadliest of the 21st century. Despite nutritional interventions implemented 70 years ago, such as the Food Pyramid and the promotion of healthy lifestyles, there has been an exponential increase in interrelated cardiometabolic conditions, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer, dementia, and neurodegenerative diseases. This raises questions about the effectiveness of research-based recommendations over the decades, which may have been potentially flawed and deeply influenced modern life and culture, fueling sugar addiction and the pleasure of eating, and capitalizing extensively on the market economy. It is essential to make structural decisions to dismantle particularly erroneous modifications, whether nutritional or otherwise, and educate both new generations and healthcare professionals about a new paradigm of healthier and more flexible lifestyles. This scientific essay focuses on critically reviewing the most prominent evidence supporting modern dietary and lifestyle modifications, and analyzing the historical behavior of clinical conditions that these interventions sought to modify. This allows for inferences about the potential error of research and decisions made, and sowing a new founded theory that promotes paradigm shift after rigorous research in this regard. In the context of the pandemic, these new investigations acquire even greater relevance and urgency to address the global crisis of malnutrition and diabetes.