'Obesity' like cancer, surgeons claim

(ANSA) Rome, March 10 - As many as 1.3 million young Italians of both sexes suffer from grave obesity, making up 3% of the population, according to a report presented Tuesday by the Italian Society of Obesity surgery and metabolic illnesses (Sicob).
    Each year some 10,000 of the obese young people seek treatment from surgeons to resolve the problem that can reduce life expectancy by as much as 10 years, comparable to some forms of cancer, according to the report by Sicob doctors delivered to the upper house of Parliament Tuesday.
    Most operations are carried out in clinics in northern Italy while obese patients more often come from southern Italian regions, said Sicob president Nicola Di Lorenzo.
    "These are life-saving operations on patients who often have many other illnesses such as diabetis or hypertension," he said.