Volume 22, Issue 3 e13165
COVID-19/LATIN AMERICA

Obesity and COVID-19 in Latin America: A tragedy of two pandemics—Official document of the Latin American Federation of Obesity Societies

Bruno Halpern

Corresponding Author

Bruno Halpern

Executive Committee, Latin American Federation of Obesity Societies (FLASO), Executive Committee, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Obesity Group, Department of Endocrinology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Weight Control Center, Hospital 9 de Julho, São Paulo, Brazil

Correspondence

Bruno Halpern, Obesity Group, Department of Endocrinology, University of São Paulo, Rua Alves Guimarães 462 CJ 72/73, São Paulo, Brazil.

Email: [email protected]

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Maria Laura da Costa Louzada

Maria Laura da Costa Louzada

School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Center of Epidemiology Research on Nutrition and Health, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

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Pablo Aschner

Pablo Aschner

Javeriana University School of Medicine, San Ignacio University Hospital, Bogotá, Colombia

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Fernando Gerchman

Fernando Gerchman

Internal Medicine Department, Post-graduate Program in Medical Sciences: Endocrinology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Endocrine and Metabolism Division, Hospital de Clínicas, Porto Alegre, Brazil

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Imperia Brajkovich

Imperia Brajkovich

Department of Internal Medicine B—School of Medicine “Luis Razetti”, University Hospital of Caracas—Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela

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José Rocha Faria-Neto

José Rocha Faria-Neto

Center for Clinical and Epidemiological Research (EpiCenter), School of Medicine, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil

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Felix Escaño Polanco

Felix Escaño Polanco

Executive Committee, Latin American Federation of Obesity Societies (FLASO), Executive Committee, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

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Julio Montero

Julio Montero

Executive Committee, Latin American Federation of Obesity Societies (FLASO), Executive Committee, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Executive Committee, Argentinian Society of Obesity and Alimentary Disorders, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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Silvia María Marín Juliá

Silvia María Marín Juliá

Executive Committee, Latin American Federation of Obesity Societies (FLASO), Executive Committee, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Obesity Group, Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de La Habana, Havana, Cuba

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Paulo Andrade Lotufo

Paulo Andrade Lotufo

Department of Internal Medicine, Faculdade de Medicina FMUSP, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

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Oscar H. Franco

Oscar H. Franco

Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

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First published: 23 November 2020
Citations: 50

Summary

In May 2020, Latin America became the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, a region already afflicted by social disparities, poor healthcare access, inadequate nutrition and a large prevalence of noncommunicable chronic diseases. Obesity and its comorbidities are increasingly prevalent in Latin America, with a more rapid growth in individuals with lower income, and currently a disease associated with COVID-19 severity, complications and death. In this document, the Latin American Association of Obesity Societies and collaborators present a review of the burden of two pandemics in Latin America, discuss possible mechanisms that explain their relationship with each other and provide public health and individual recommendations, as well as questions for future studies.

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