Israel | In light of the alarming data: the Ministry of Health will consider recognizing obesity as a disease

The Ministry of Health’s report for 2022 indicates that approximately 60% of the adult population, between the ages of 20 and 64, suffers from obesity. Dr. Ella Ein Mor, the editor of the study on the subject, warned that 8.5% of children in a low socio-economic status at the age of 7 suffer from obesity Moreover, compared to about 6% of children of this age in a high socio-economic situation. She also presented how in Gush Dan there are low rates of childhood obesity compared to the periphery, and how the phenomenon expands every year.Prof. Ronit Andolt, the director of the nutrition department at the Ministry of Health, told about training mothers for proper and healthy nutrition – to prevent obesity, people with obesity have a seven-fold risk of developing diabetes, a three-fold risk of developing diabetes and a three-fold decrease in fertility in men and women. In addition, about 55% of cancer diagnoses in men and 24% of cancer diagnoses in women are related to overweight and obesity.

She warned that if the trend continues, in six years 12.8% of children at the age of 14 will suffer from obesity, 4.2 times the normal distribution. In the case of adults, the continuation of the current trend will lead in six years to 25% of adults with obesity and 58% to be overweight. According to her, the direct and indirect expenses of the phenomenon are NIS 20 billion per year, which is about 1.4% of the gross national product.

According to her, the ministry encourages the health funds with NIS 20 million a year to establish clinics to treat obesity. The data also shows that there has been an increase in the rate of smokers: one in five Israelis between the ages of 16 and 74 smokes, most of them men from a lower socioeconomic status. Direct and indirect smoking causes about 8,000 deaths every year.

MK Avraham Bezalel, one of the initiators of the discussion, said that the consequences of the two phenomena are damage to the quality of life, the ability to earn money and not being drafted into the IDF. Prof. Nachman Ash, chairman of the National Institute for Health Policy Research, emphasized the urgency required in treating obesity and excessive smoking, due to the large proportion of the population relevant to these phenomena, and the expansion of the data every year.

“It is of the utmost importance to reduce the gaps in health,” said MK Yoni Meshariki, chairman of the health committee, “I intend to hold a series of discussions to promote torture and dedicated programs to prevent obesity and smoking among children and teenagers.” Mashreiki called for an emphasis on prevention – through health education, training of pediatricians and family physicians for treatment in the field, and the establishment of multidisciplinary clinics for regular treatment of obesity, mainly in the periphery and among designated populations.

As a first step, the Ministry of Health was asked to consider recognizing obesity as a disease. Meanwhile, the Ministries of Education and Health were asked to submit to the committee the plans to reduce smoking and obesity in the Arab and ultra-Orthodox sectors.