Obesity : the Scourge of the Western World Obesity is rapidly becoming anew scourge of the western world, delegates agreed at the llth Eu-ropeanConference on the issue in ViennaWednesday to Saturday. According to statements before the opening of theconference-of 2, 000 specialists from more than 50 countries-l. 2 billionpeople worldwide are overweight, and 250 million are obese. Professor Bernhard Ludvik of Vienna General Hospital said: "Obesity is achronic illness. In Ger- many. 20 percent of the people are already affected,but in Japan only one percent. " But he said that there was hope forsufferers thanks to the new scientific discoveries and medication. Professor Friedrich Hopichlerof Salzberg said: "We are living in the new age (but) with the me-tabolism of a stone-age man. " "I have just been to theUnited States.It is really terrible. A pizza shop is springing up on every corner. We havebeen overrun by fast food and Coca-Cola-ization. " Many of the experts stressedthat obesity was a potential killer. Hopichler said: "80 percent of alldiabetics are obese, als0 50 percent of all patients with high blood pressureand 50 percent with adi- pose tissue complaints. " "10 percent more weightmeans 13 percent more risk of heart disease. Reduc- ing one's weight by 10percent leads t0 13 percent lower blood pressure. " Another expert HermannToplak said that the state health services should improve their financing ofpreventive programs. "Though the health insurance pays for surgery (suchas reducing the size of the stomach) when the body-mass index is more than 40.That is equivalent to a weight of 116 kilo- grams for a height of l. 70 meters.One should start earlier. " Ludvik said that preventionshould begin in school. "Child obesity (fat deposits) correlates with the time which children spend in front of TVsets. " The consequences were onlyapparent later on. No more than 15 percent of obese people lived to the averagelife expectancy for their population group. It is estimated that there are _ people suffering from obesity in the world