On this National Day for the Fight against Obesity, which is celebrated today, 20 May, the Order of Physiotherapists appeals to the increase in the intervention of physiotherapists in weight management programmes and in the availability of these programmes to the general population.
Obesity and overweight can be defined by an abnormal or excessive accumulation of fat that can contribute to non-communicable disease situations such as cardiovascular (leading cause of death) and respiratory diseases, osteoarticular (especially osteoarthritis which is highly disabling) and some forms of cancer, as well as diabetes.
In Portugal, noncommunicable diseases are responsible for 87% of total deaths (WHO, 2023). They are caused by determining factors such as dietary changes, physical inactivity or sedentary lifestyles, smoking or alcoholism, among others.
O physiotherapist has a fundamental role on primary prevention of obesity and overweight through its intervention in the determining factors, mainly in counselling and monitoring the practice of physical activity adequate to these clinical conditions, in respiratory alterations resulting from obesity and overweight and in osteoarticular alterations, also contributing to the increase of health literacy.
The action of the physiotherapist is also revealing at the level of secondary and tertiary prevention in surgical intervention for obesity, surgical and non-surgical intervention for osteoarthritis or intervention in respiratory and sleep disorders, without forgetting intervention in diabetes management.
We recall the fundamental role of the physiotherapist as a health professional, whether or not integrated in health teams, for the management of overweight and obesityin all its aspects and contexts.
