I see the ad on television, before a series. It simulates a game show. The contestant is a woman who is overweight, but not obese. The host asks the woman to complete the sentence: "Obesity increases..." And she says: "The capacity for self-acceptance." And adds: "And it also increases the risk of heart disease." The formula is repeated several times. The woman says many things that wouldn't be out of place in a television program about what we now call fatphobia, so the host's words are like a warning sign for self-help. The ending, however, is corny and cheesy and ruins the beginning. The woman breaks down and says that obesity is "Not being able to play with my children" or "Feeling ashamed when I eat in front of others," and ends by saying that "Obesity is an illness."

The strategies of the last 30 years to contain the advance of obesity in the world have failed and, without strong political action, the projections for 2050 are not optimistic. This is the scenario drawn by the most exhaustive global analysis of overweight and obesity carried out to date, the The Lancet Global Burden of Disease Study. According to the study led by the University of Washington (UW), cases have doubled between 1990 and 2021, with more than 2.1 billion adults and nearly 500 million children and adolescents affected. That is, four out of ten people in the world are obese. But in 25 years, these figures are expected to increase further: 60% of those over 25 years of age (3.8 billion) and a third of children and young people between 5 and 24 years of age (746 million) will suffer from a disease due to excess weight.