Israel ranks 50th in the world with at least 180,000 people classified as obese. There are an estimated 300 million obese people in the world and experts predict that by 2013, that number will reach 400 million. These alarming findings are being discussed at the 2nd World Congress on Controversies in Diabetes, Obesity and Hypertension (CODHy) in Barcelona.

Forums at the conference will discuss new procedures, surgical intervention to assist persons who seem incapable of getting rid of their excess weight. Obesity the doctors explain increases one’s risk of many diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, kidney disease, in addition to a higher risk of premature death.

Hadassah Medical Center’s Dr. Andrei Kedar states that unfortunately, the Israeli medical community has not yet realized the value of these surgical procedures, which he says reduce cholesterol and blood pressure, improve kidney function and serve to eliminate sleep apnea.

Basically he explains, the procedures save lives. “I encounter colleagues who say ‘what do you mean an operation. Let them lose weight!’ they are unaware there are procedures which can be tailored to the need of an individual patient.

Prof. Itamar Raz, who heads Israel’s Diabetic Council, is in agreement. He is chairman of the conference’s organizing committee and an internationally respected for his expertise in the field of obesity and consequences.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)