[Obesity--an interdisciplinary task]

In industrial nations, over the last five decades conditions concerning nutrition and physical exercise as well as socio-economic circumstances have changed radically. One of the consequences following from this development has been a rapid increase in the prevalence of obesity. Studies have shown that currently 20 percent of the German adult population suffer from obesity. Investigations into the etiology of obesity have to address complex interactions between genetic, socio-economic and psychosocial factors. A year ago, at the University Hospital Tübingen different departments joined to set up the "Plattform Adipositas". Endocrinologists, obesity surgeons, professionals in sports medicine and psychosomatic medicine as well as dieticians are collaborating to develop scientifically based therapy programs and treatment pathways for obese patients. The following article gives an account of this exemplary interdisciplinary cooperation.