Abstract
Diabetes and obesity are major health hazards in Latin America nowadays. Their prevalence has steadily increased since the eighties. Today, more than 50% of the population are overweight, 15% has obesity and 6% to 15% has diabetes. The nutrition transition is a long-term process that brings chronic metabolic diseases as an undesired consequence, whilst ultra processed foods become increasingly part of daily food choices. These changes bring impacts in all fields of daily life, especially in the economic and legal fields—the “Right to Health”—and regarding autonomy of the individual and their choices, when confronted with an ideal of health and well-being. Governments and citizens struggle to propose new pathways and find effective solutions to control both epidemics and solve these issues. This article poses the evolution of diabetes and obesity in the Mercosur, seeking a better understanding of these chronic, non-communicable diseases, and looking for concrete, effective solutions towards health in South America.
Highlights
For 30 years nutrition transition has been changing the pattern of chronic diseases’ prevalence in Latin American countries
This article intends to study the current status of obesity and diabetes in the Mercosur1 (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay), and look for a better understanding of this condition and its future perspectives
The growing prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia and a sedentary lifestyle explains a big part of the morbidity and mortality, turning them into a major public health problem in the Mercosur [1]
Summary
For 30 years nutrition transition has been changing the pattern of chronic diseases’ prevalence in Latin American countries. Three factors contribute for this change: 1) increasing urbanization; 2) reduced physical ac-. (2016) Diabetes, Obesity and the Nutrition Transition in the Mercosur. This article intends to study the current status of obesity and diabetes in the Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay), and look for a better understanding of this condition and its future perspectives. The increase of the consumption of processed and ultra-processed foods, which are high in fat, sodium and sugar, is a major cause of metabolic diseases. The growing prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia and a sedentary lifestyle explains a big part of the morbidity and mortality, turning them into a major public health problem in the Mercosur [1]
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