In Catalonia, 21.3% of children between 6 and 12 years old are overweight and 11.3% suffer from obesity, according to data from the 2024 Catalan Health Survey (ESCA). The percentage of obesity is higher among boys—standing at 14%—than among girls—standing at. To address this public health problem, it is important that its approach and prevention be included within the framework of equitable policies that reduce social and commercial inequalities in health, emphasizing the environment and living conditions of children and their families.

Strategies to curb the obesity epidemic have failed in recent decades and cases are rising steadily worldwide. According to projections from the World Obesity Federation, more than half of the world's population will be overweight or obese within 10 years, and strategies to combat this disease, such as lifestyle changes, surgery, and medication, are not effective and are not accessible to everyone. Now, researchers from the Universities of Copenhagen and Bristol have developed a new genetic test that can identify children at risk of suffering from severe obesity in the future, which would allow for early detection of the disease. To do so, they analyzed the genetic data of more than five million people in a study published this Monday in the journal Nature Medicine.