{"id":173526,"date":"2026-06-04T17:10:04","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T23:10:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/?p=173526"},"modified":"2026-06-04T17:27:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T23:27:50","slug":"obesity-treatment-diabetes-cardiovascular-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/health\/obesity-treatment-diabetes-cardiovascular-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"Obesity Should Be Treated as a Medical Emergency, Says Researcher"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Obesity is often treated years after metabolic damage has already begun. According to Carolina Solis-Herrera, an endocrinologist at the University of Texas at San Antonio<\/a>, the disease can silently drive diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and kidney complications long before patients receive medical intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at the International Congress on Obesity Research<\/a> hosted by the Institute for Obesity Research<\/a> at Tec de Monterrey, Solis-Herrera warned that fewer than five percent of patients receive treatment and that physicians may wait five to six years before intervening. The congress brought together researchers and clinicians studying the biological and social drivers of obesity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Obesity is involved in more than 200 complications, from diabetes to cardiovascular disease,” said Carolina Solis-Herrera during Tecnologico de Monterrey’s International Congress on Obesity Research. (Photo: Alejandro Salazar \/ TecScience)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Childhood and Adolescent Obesity Are Rising Worldwide<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For Solis-Herrera, one of the most troubling changes is the rise in obesity among children and adolescents. \u201cUnfortunately, obesity is no longer an adult disease,” she explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The specialist highlighted that there are currently medicines approved for patients over 12 years old and the importance of intervening at an early age. This is crucial not only to prevent future metabolic complications but also to reduce the emotional and psychological burden obesity can have on young people. \u201cDuring adolescence, there\u2019s a lot of stigma, a lot of bullying, a lot of body image concerns, especially among girls,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Obesity Stigma Still Prevents Patients From Seeking Treatment<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Solis-Herrera noted that despite greater scientific understanding of obesity, the stigma continues to affect many patients, especially due to aesthetic pressures and the perception that weight depends solely on individual efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also highlighted the influence that media and beauty standards have on body image at early ages. Still, she considers that today there is a greater scientific understanding of the disease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There is now much more understanding of why obesity develops and that it is not a problem of lacking willpower,” she said. “It is a chronic genetic inflammatory condition that requires long-term medication.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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