Obesity is South Africa’s new HIV epidemic
Date
2024-03
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
South African Medical Association
Abstract
Introduction: World Obesity Day is on 4 March 2024, and our nation needs to pay attention. As with the HIV epidemic in the 1990s, we are facing a calamitous threat to the health of the population that has been ignored for too long. Weight-related diseases have eclipsed tuberculosis (TB) and HIV as leading causes of morbidity and mortality. Over two-thirds of South African (SA) women are overweight or are living with obesity.[1] For example, type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease, conditions all directly linked to the disease of obesity, account for three of the top four causes of death nationally and incur massive health system costs.[2,3] Moreover, excess weight gain has deleterious effects far beyond cardiovascular disease risk, with evidence strongly linking it to poor pregnancy outcomes, cancer, liver and kidney disease, mental illness, and sleep disorders.[4,5].
Description
CITATION: Chandiwana N, et al. 2024. Obesity is South Africa’s new HIV epidemic. S Afr Med J 114(3):4 pages. doi.10.7196/SAMJ.2024.v114i3.1927
The original publication is available at: https://samajournals.co.za
The original publication is available at: https://samajournals.co.za
Keywords
Citation
Chandiwana N, et al. 2024. Obesity is South Africa’s new HIV epidemic. S Afr Med J 114(3):4 pages. doi.10.7196/SAMJ.2024.v114i3.1927