Obesity costs Panama over $100 million a year

Obesity related diseases costs the country over $100 million year, says the Ministry of Health.

Diseases like hypertension, diabetes and heart problems head the list named by a specialist from the Ministry on Sunday.
Reina Roa, Director of the Ministry’s Service Provision was speaking at the start of a campaign "5 a Day," that urges citizens to include at least five servings of fruit and vegetables of fruit and vegetables in their regular diet to reduce mortality due to diseases linked to excess weight.
"These are preventable diseases in terms of a healthy diet based on fruits and vegetables, no smoking or alcohol," said According to Roa,
There are over 480,000 Panamanians affected by hypertension which costs the state $44 million

Thirty six percent of adults are overweight and 18.3percent are obese, or nearly half the population over 20 is overweight, says the National Secretariat for Food Security and Nutrition (Senape).