- Obesity and its impact on multiple diseases is the focus of a multidisciplinary meeting held at Doctor Balmis Hospital
- Specialists remind that losing weight is not the goal, but the means to gain health and prevent complications
Alacant (09.06.26). The Alicante-General Hospital Health Department, together with the Alicante Institute for Health and Biomedical Research (ISABIAL), and with the collaboration of Lilly, have held an update day on obesity under the slogan “OBICUAD: Transforming obesity into health opportunities”, a meeting aimed at healthcare professionals to analyze the latest advances in the management of this disease and promote a multidisciplinary approach.
The activity, held in the assembly hall of Doctor Balmis Hospital, brought together specialists in Endocrinology, Primary Care, Cardiology, Pneumology, Bariatric Surgery, Internal Medicine and Nephrology with the aim of sharing knowledge and strengthening coordination between disciplines.
The opening of the event was attended by the Medical Director of Primary Care, Dr. Belén Colás, and the Head of the Endocrinology and Nutrition Section, Dr. Joaquín Serrano.
The first presentation was given by Dr. Myriam Sánchez-Pacheco, specialist in the Endocrinology and Nutrition Service, with the talk “The ABC of obesity: why obesity is a stigmatized disease that requires our action”.
As explained, “many people still see obesity as a matter of lack of willpower or unhealthy habits, when scientific evidence shows that genetic, hormonal, pharmacological or stress-related factors, among others, are involved”.
In this regard, the specialist has warned that social stigma perpetuates obesity by judging it incorrectly, which deeply harms the patient’s mental health. “Weight loss activates powerful biological mechanisms that favor the recovery of lost weight, which demonstrates that obesity is a complex disease and not a simple matter of willpower”, she noted.
For her part, Dr. Carolina de Tiedra, a Family Physician at the Babel health center, explained that “the term ‘obicuidad’ refers to the presence of obesity across multiple pathologies and healthcare settings. Obesity has been recognized as a disease in the International Classification of Diseases since 1948, but for decades a view centered on individual responsibility prevailed. However, current scientific knowledge defines it as a chronic disease associated with adiposity, complex, multifactorial and recurrent, with clearly identified pathophysiological and neurobiological mechanisms”, she indicated.
One of the central moments of the meeting was the multidisciplinary panel “The weight of adiposity in my practice”, in which specialists in Cardiology, Pneumology, Bariatric Surgery, Internal Medicine and Nephrology participated. During the debate, Drs. Hugo París, José Manuel León, Sergio Ortiz, Maribel Manso and Alba Santos analyzed how obesity directly influences diseases such as diabetes, heart failure, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome or kidney disease, and highlighted the need to incorporate adiposity as a key element in the assessment and treatment of these patients.
Four therapeutic pillars
The experts gathered agree that the treatment of obesity should be based on four fundamental pillars: nutritional intervention, regular practice of aerobic and strength physical activity, bariatric surgery in eligible patients, and pharmacological treatment based on scientific evidence.
In this regard, they highlighted that the therapeutic goal should not focus exclusively on weight loss, but rather on overall health improvement, the reduction of complications, and the prevention of associated comorbidities.
The meeting also helped to raise awareness of a disease that remains underdiagnosed and underrecognized in many healthcare settings. In this sense, professionals emphasized the importance of improving its identification and clinical recording in order to facilitate patient access to a comprehensive and continuous approach.
In conclusion, it was recalled that success in the treatment of obesity should not be measured solely in terms of kilograms lost, but in the consolidation of healthy habits and in the continuity of treatment adapted to each patient’s needs.