TITLE:
Diabetes, Obesity and the Nutrition Transition in the Mercosur
AUTHORS:
Tatiane Andreazza Lucchese, Amanda Maia Breis, Karine Rucker, Vagner Rosa Bizarro, Lis Marina Mesquita Araújo, Alessandre Gomes, Mikele Torino Paletti, Ana Luísa Conceição de Jesus, Marcella Garcez Duarte, Denise Rosso Tenório Wanderley Rocha, Alberto Krayyem Arbex
KEYWORDS:
Obesity, Diabetes, Mercosur, Nutrition Transition, Right to Health, South America
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases,
Vol.6 No.1,
January
14,
2016
ABSTRACT: Diabetes and obesity are
major health hazards in Latin America nowadays. Their prevalence hassteadily increased since the eighties.
Today, more than 50% of the population are overweight, 15%has obesity and 6% to 15% has
diabetes. The nutrition transition is a long-termprocess that brings chronic metabolic
diseases as an undesired consequence, whilst ultra processedfoods become increasingly part of daily
food choices. These changes bring impacts in all fields of daily life,
especially in the economic and legal fields—the “Right to Health”—and regarding
autonomy of the individual and their choices, when confronted with an ideal of
health and well-being. Governments and citizens struggle to propose new
pathways and find effective solutions to control both epidemics and solve these
issues. This article poses the evolution of diabetes and obesity in the
Mercosur, seeking a better understanding of these chronic, non-communicable
diseases, and looking for concrete, effective solutions towards health in South
America.