Abstract
ABSTRACT This article aimed to carry out a historical analysis of the dissemination of the scientific concepts on obesity, overweight and excess weight in the field of nutritional epidemiology in the world. The methodological procedures comprised: (1) Systematic search in the PubMed® database using single keywords and without date filter; (2) Documentary analysis of normative instruments on the websites of the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Obesity Federation; and (3) Analysis of the scientific production of scientists participating in the obesity classification of the International Obesity Task Force. The historical analysis showed that, considering the volume of publications on obesity, it appears that in the 1940-1949 decade the problem of obesity emerged on the world scenario. From the number of publications issued in the last 20 years, which corresponds to 85% of the investigated period, we can deduct that scientists’ concern to investigate the subject as a phenomenon coincides with the World Health Organization declaration of obesity as a global epidemic issued in the year 2000. In accordance with normative procedures established by international organizations, there has been a hegemonic use of the concepts of obesity and overweight, in this order of priority, by scientists worldwide. The concept of excess weight has experienced a relative rise since the year 2000, but its use has been very restricted, expressing dissonance in face of the recommendations of international standardization organizations, a fact that suggests discussion and review of its use by the world scientific community.
Highlights
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the global prevalence of obesity almost tripled between 1975 and 2016
In 2019, it was estimated that 38.2 million children under 5 years of age presented with overweight or obesity in the world scenario
The review of the WHO documents carried out in the present study indicates that this agency, responsible for the standardization of health actions in the global context, has adopted, over the years, a conception of obesity centered on the biomedical paradigm [2]
Summary
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the global prevalence of obesity almost tripled between 1975 and 2016. In 2016, 650 million adults (13% of the world population) and more than 124 million children and adolescents 5 to 19 years old (6% girls and 8% boys) were obese [1]. World Health Organization, for example, when adopting the definition of obesity as the abnormal or excessive accumulation of body fat that can be harmful to health seems to corroborate with this reductionist perspective [1]. For that regulatory health agency whose actions are carried out in the world context, obesity can be defined based on anthropometric and nutritional parameters considered abnormal, when compared with reference standards that vary according to age, gender, genetic or cultural origin. For example, obesity is defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) equal to or greater than 30kg/m2 [1]
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