Since the mid-20th century, humanity has witnessed a relentless advance in obesity, to the extent that it is now classed as an epidemic disease. It affects all developed and developing countries, and is even showing up in poor countries whose problem to date has been undernutrition.

The aim of this book, which draws its contents from Dr. Monereo’s lectures in the BBVA Foundation over March 2012, is to bring together the latest scientific knowledge on the causes and consequences of obesity and how it can be overcome. Her analysis starts from the disease’s status as a worldwide epidemic and its relationship to the environmental changes taking place in recent years. She also reviews its medical and social causes from the standpoint of genetics, nutrition and lack of physical exercise, and the effects it may have on sufferers’ physical and mental health. Finally, turning her attention to prevention and solutions, she draws a line between methods based on science and those which, while apparently effective, have not been scientifically proven.

A key idea running through the book is that there are no miracle weight-loss products or methods and that prevention is the best cure. Obesity begins to be wired in at the embryonic stage, and we now know that  factors like the mother’s degree of obesity, plus her diet and weight gain during pregnancy, can have a life-long impact on the future child.

Excess weight is not just a health concern but an educational and political issue as well, which extends to other  areas, like personal care, with an influence on life quality. For this reason, ‘Nuevos retos en la prevención de la obesidad: tratamientos y calidad de vida’ is aimed at both healthcare professionals and the general public. In its pages, readers will find up-to-date, reliable scientific information couched in clear, comprehensible terms on this epidemic of the modern age.