Obesity along with iodine deficiency are conditions that have accompanied man since the dawn of civilization, as evidenced by the discovery in the Willendorf region of Austria of bronze statuettes made 25,000 years ago, representing obese women , known since then as the Venus de Willendorf (1). Hippocrates and Greek doctors observed that obesity entailed a reduction in life expectancy and that obese women have more frequent menstrual irregularities and infertility. Both Galen and Avicenna made descriptions of this disease and it was the Hindu doctors Sushrut and Charak (500-400 BC) who associated it with the presence of sweet taste in the urine (2).

Peru is a medium income developing country with an increasing prevalence of chronic non communicable diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome and obesity. Objective: To review the epidemiology of obesity and the metabolic syndrome (MS) concerning its prevalence. Methods: The medical literature was reviewed based on the systematic searching of Pub-Med, SciELO, LILACS and publications from the Peruvian Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization and national public health related agencies. Results: The National Household Survey (ENAHO) 2006 found prevalence of overweight of 30.9% in young adults, 42.5% in adults and 21.7% in older adults. The prevalence of obesity in these groups was 8.7%, 19.8% and 10.6%, respectively. Being woman, not being poor and living in urban area were the main factors associated to weight excess. Prevalence of...