Gone are the days when the young used to play in the street all day through the holidays, whilst mum cooked up a traditional meal with meat and two vegetables, and the family enjoyed this meal around the table.  Very little was heard about obesity back in the 1970’s, food was an important aspect of family living.  Unfortunately life began to change, some things were definitely for the better, others would mean problems for some people with regards to matters such as healthcare.  Obesity is linked to heart disease, the rise in people with heart disease has been considerable.  The main problem with society now is that the young are being brought up on junk food instead of good home cooking.  Many children have never seen their parents cook, let alone know what fruit and vegetables are.  Accompanied with the lack of children playing out in the street at home time and in the holidays obesity is certainly a problem.  Children are preferring to stay in and watch vast quantities of television, along with playing on computer games.

The rise in people being admitted to hospital with weight issues has risen dramatically, with all the extra weight there is also the increased risk of having treatment for back ache (Rückenschmerzen).

There is help out there for people with weight issues and a good way of feeling better about yourself is to indulge in some good old physical activity.  There are plenty of gyms, which not only offer exercise programmes but offer treatments such as massage in their wellness and spa facilities.  For someone who is suffering with their health and is worried it is always advisable to go and get checked out by a GP who can advise on the best way forward.

Another common finding by orthopaedic surgeons and one which is often treated by way of operation is intervertebral disk (bandscheibenvorfall) prolapse.  Some disc prolapses are so bad that the patient can hardly stand.