[Obesity: a puzzling disorder].

* PhD. Professor, Department of Pediatrics, School o Medicine, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP, Brazil. To a certain extent, we may say that the history of humankind has been characterized by struggles against hunger. However, there have been reports and depictions of obese persons since ancient times. In some societies, and even in western societies, in some periods, obesity used to be a sign of good health and beauty. As an example, we have the famous paintings of Flemish and Impressionist artists portraying men and women bearing weights (metaphorically speaking) far greater than those seen as beautiful and appropriate for today’s standards.