ISSSTE Yucatan launches Prevention and Regression of Overweight and Obesity program

Mérida, Yucatán (November 19, 2020).- The ISSSTE Yucatán develops actions for the prevention and control of chronic non-communicable diseases, among which are overweight, obesity, diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, dyslipidemias, among others pointed out Dr. Mario Hernan Alcocer Basto, Head of Medical Attention of the ISSSTE.

The ISSSTE head of medical care said that this preventive information involves those responsible for the Family Medicine Units of the Institute in the State since they have the commitment to be replicators of the information from their units and share them with the beneficiaries.

He reported that the National Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Overweight, Obesity and Diabetes is made up of three pillars: public health, medical care and health regulation.

He said that Overweight and Obesity represent the fifth risk factor for deaths in the world that is essential to eat healthily and exercise regularly. “It is time to promote healthy lifestyles and eating habits, it is the task of the ISSSTE in Yucatan, exhorting the general population to carry out physical activity as a priority line of life, it is time to move, to leave the sedentary lifestyle behind.”

Dr. Mario Hernan Alcocer Basto said that the training of health personnel and the strengthening of primary care in the ISSSTE represents a great commitment coordinated with the Health Sector.

“There is an instruction to standardize and provide to the Medical Units of the first level of care, the elements for the implementation and execution of the procedures corresponding to nutritional care that is part of the  Prevention and Regression of overweight and Obesity program, promoting the adoption of a correct diet through the empowerment of patients ”.

Dr. Mario explained that at the first level of care, around 85% of the population’s health problems are resolved, that is where the arrest, diagnosis, and monitoring of various diseases are carried out, and their treatment is determined.

He said that the development of chronic non-communicable diseases and their complications is determined by the lifestyles and behavior related to nutrition and physical activity of each person.

He stressed that watching your weight is more than a matter of aesthetics, it is the best way to prevent diseases; excess body weight promotes chronic disease that appears when food consumption is greater than energy expenditure.

He stated that according to the World Health Organization (WHO), chronic diseases are long duration diseases, and generally of slow progression. Also known as chronic degenerative diseases or chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), these constitute the main cause of mortality worldwide.

NCDs cause 63% of deaths and are largely due to poor diet and physical inactivity along with the harmful use of alcohol and tobacco use.

These deaths could be significantly reduced by combating risk factors and applying early detention and prompt treatment.