OBESITY - INTERNAL-MEDICINE, OBSTETRIC AND GYNECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS RELATED TO OVERWEIGHT

Obesity is the major nutritional problem affecting industrialised soci ety. According to a recent ISTAT survey, 41% of men and 19% of women i n the Italian population suffer from obesity. Obesity is a complex pat hological entity with a multiform and often indeterminable etiology. S tudies of natural and adopted children and twins suggest that a clear hereditary, constitutional predisposing factor is present in obesity w hich interacts with environmental conditions. The genetic factor is al so suggested by the statistical finding that if neither parent is obes e, then only 7-10% of their children will be obese, whereas if one par ent is obese, 40-50% of children will probably become obese, and if bo th parents are obese as many as 70-80% of children will be obese. The risks related to obesity can be broadly categorised as mechanical and metabolic. The former include arthrosis, osteoporosis, degenerative di seases affecting the joints and bone matrix, muscular hypotrophy and r espiratory deficits. The major metabolic risks include hypercholestero lemia, altered glycoregulation and hyperuricemia. From an obstetric po int of view, apart from the fact that obesity is often associated with sterility, excess weight can often lead to sometimes dramatic complic ations during pregnancy, involving major risks for both mother and fet us. From a gynecological point of view the links between obesity, tumo urs and menopause are well known.