Endocrinologist and coordinator of the Obesity Unit at Vall d'Hebron Hospital.
The work of a global commission, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology and endorsed by more than 75 medical organisations worldwide, presents a new approach to diagnosing obesity. This is based on other measures of excess body fat, in addition to body mass index (BMI), and on objective signs and symptoms of poor health at the individual level.
In the year 2023, Science magazine has chosen the development and discovery that GLP-1 medications, agonists of the glucagon-like peptide-1, can mitigate health issues associated with obesity as the most important scientific breakthrough. Similarly, Nature magazine has selected biochemist Svetlana Mojsov, a key figure in the discovery of GLP-1, as one of the top ten scientists of the year.
Obesity is a growing public health problem for the entire planet. According to the 2023 Obesity Atlas published this week by the World Obesity Federation, 51% of the world's population will be overweight or obese (more than 4 billion people) by 2035, up from 38% today. At a briefing organised by SMC Spain ahead of World Obesity Day on 4 March, two experts discussed the role that drugs can play in combating a disease whose roots are social and linked to inequality.