What is obesity?
Obesity is an abnormal accumulation of fat that can be detrimental to health and a major risk factor for numerous chronic diseases such as diabetes, arterial hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, as well as various cancers.
While nearly 70% of adults suffer from obesity and overweight, childhood obesity has become a growing epidemic. In ten years alone its rate increased from 7.7% to 19.3% according to data from the Observatory of Nutrition and the Study of Overweight and Obesity and one in four children aged 5 to 9 years has some degree of excess weight (overweight or obesity).
“Obesity, today, is a risk factor for many diseases (such as diabetes or high blood pressure), so a real change must be aimed at improving our healthy lifestyles (eating more fruits and vegetables, physical activity, drinking water daily, getting enough rest, and preventive checkups).”
- Diana Huamán, coordinator of Soy Qhalikay and CADSA projects.
Active search for people at risk
In response to this situation, the Non-Communicable Diseases and Cancer Program of Socios En Salud is launching the chatbot Soy QHALIKAY (I’m Healthy) an initiative created with the objective of identifying future participants with diabetes and/or high blood pressure or who present signs of risk for developing these diseases.
This application offers participants a system for early identification of risk, through a test consisting of 10 questions, which must be filled out by them and thus they can know whether or not they have any risk factor, in order to treat it in time.
With a simple format, the questions address the aspects of: anthropometry (build), risk factors (alcohol, diet, smoking, physical activity, age), symptoms (dryness, dizziness, acanthosis nigricans, frequency of going to the bathroom) and after concluding you are given the answer immediately of theresult of the evaluation(risk level none, low, medium and high) along with recommendations.
From Socios En Salud we are committed to strengthening access to screening, diagnosis and referral in primary health care services to initiate timely treatment for non-communicable diseases.