Hungarians are considered to be the most overweight nation in Europe
The Hungarian Obesity Association (MET) has reported that Hungarians are the fourth most overweight nation in Europe and the fourth nation most affected by obesity according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). 2009 and 2014 data of the National Nutritional Status Examination (OTÁP) revealed that the severity of obesity is constantly increasing.
This means that more and more overweight people are becoming obese, and more and more severe forms of obesity l appear. Therefore, even more emphasis should be placed on prevention from the point of view of weight gain, so that maintaining a normal body weight and preventing further weight gain in overweight people should be a priority.
Obesity can cause more than twenty types of complication, the most common of which include high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, Type II diabetes and some cancers. The best treatment is changing the lifestyle, but in severe cases it can only be treated with medications or surgery.
n order to prevent obesity and its complications, the Hungarian Obesity Society formulated five recommendations:
People at risk, or who are already affected by obesity should make sure they eat varied meals, and should only eat half the portions of their normal main and side meals! All their meals should include foods made from fresh vegetables and fruits, and they should pay attention to fluid intake.
They should gradually increase their physical activity, the simplest form of exercise, walking, is recommended, the daily duration should be increased from a few minutes to 60 minutes or 10,000 steps.
In general, we should preferably sleep 7-8 hours, out of which, ideally, 2 hours before midnight, in a not overheated, well-ventilated place, we should not eat or exercise 2 hours before bedtime.
We should ensure we do something to relieve everyday stress with active leisure programmes, exercising, hiking or excursions, dancing, or cultural programmes.
Our lifestyle should follow a daily and weekly rhythm, we should avoid smoking, reduce alcohol consumption, use only the most necessary chemicals and cosmetics in our household, and only take medicines or nutritional supplements prescribed by our treating physician.
About the National Nutritional Status Examination (OTÁP)
