NUTS!

ATHENS (Reuters) - Obesity, which already affects more than 300 million people and an alarming number of children, must be recognized and treated as a disease with deadly complications, a leading expert said on Wednesday.

Up to 8 percent of total healthcare costs in some Western countries are attributable to obesity and related problems. It is a leading cause of preventable death -- so shedding excess weight is not just about looking good.

"Obesity is not an aesthetic problem. It is a very complex problem tightly connected to diabetes, atherosclerosis (blocked arteries) and other major health problems and causes of death," Professor Constantine Tsigos, chairman of the 14th European Congress on Obesity, told Reuters ahead of the meeting.

"It has to be treated and confronted seriously."

The four-day congress with 2,000 experts from 80 countries will focus on all aspects of obesity. But much of it will be devoted to its consequences, which include cardiovascular disease, respiratory problems, diabetes, depression and some cancers.

"The emphasis has been put on the complications to increase the awareness of obesity as a disease and a serious condition with many risks associated with it," said Tsigos.