The current situation in the management of obese patients in Slovakia: the concept of national comprehensive obesity management in the Slovak Republic

Summary

Obesity is currently a global epidemic (pandemic) and the most common metabolic disorder affecting not only adults but also children and adolescents worldwide. Increase in overweight/ obesity – as a chronic relapsing disease associated with multiple complications (metabolic, structural, inflammatory, neoplastic, degenerative) contributes significantly to the negative numbers characterizing the Slovak population (low life expectancy, lagging in terms of healthy life years at birth). Manners of managing obese people vary across the European Union. Many of European countries have developed recommendations for the management of obesity in the adult (some in the child and adolescent) population (these recommendations are still lacking in our country). The care of obese patients is very limited in everyday clinical practice. Of course, it causes more (lack of systematic collection of overweight / obesity prevalence data and its complications, less effective or ineffective national prevention programs and action plans, lack of information in the professional and lay public about the preparation, but also about the results of national programs and action plans, insufficient understanding of obesity as a chronic disease, no existing infrastructure of care for obese individuals, no or insufficient coverage of the care for obese patients from public health insurance, limited access to innovative antiobesity therapies, bariatric/metabolic surgery). The possibility for improving the situation in Slovakia is to implement the concept of multi-level multidisciplinary management of obesity. Effective obesity management depends on us, health care providers who need clear support from government and health authorities.

Key words:

centers for obesity management education multi-level obesity management obesity overweight