obesity . Oxyntomodulin : a new therapy for obesity ?

en Europe. It is estimated that 200 million of the 350 million adults living in the EU are overweight or obese. In fact, the proportion of overweight and obese men is even higher in some European countries than it is in the USA. Of greatest concern is the fact that the number of overweight children in the EU is increasing by 400 000 every year, a warning that the obesity problem will be far worse in the future. Obesity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, respiratory disease, arthritis and cancer. This disease burden has a disastrous effect on health and costs 7% of the total EU health-care spending. The risk of developing obesity-related conditions can be reduced by losing as little as 5% of body weight. However, publichealth campaigns to promote healthy eating and exercise have not stopped Europeans becoming progressively fatter. Currently available drug treatments in combination with diet produce only modest short-term weight loss and are limited by side-effects. Cutting-edge science