key: cord-0808087-hbxbp90w authors: Lim, Soo title: Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome: A Platform for Acquiring and Disseminating the Most Recent Research Findings and Developing Research Concepts about Obesity date: 2020-12-30 journal: J Obes Metab Syndr DOI: 10.7570/jomes20119 sha: 0ce4797c19a560f56710952a27cb732949ff8ca5 doc_id: 808087 cord_uid: hbxbp90w nan The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide. 1, 2 Upward trends in the prevalence rates of general and abdominal obesity have been observed among both sexes and nearly all age groups. The prevalence of such obesity patterns is higher among individuals with lower education and household income levels. 3, 4 In a survey performed in 11 countries with a total of 14,502 people with obesity and 2,785 healthcare providers, 68% of the former and 88% of the latter agreed that obesity is a disease. Half of all respondents were concerned about the impact of excess weight on health. 5 However, there was a 6-year gap between the time people with obesity began struggling with their excess weight or obesity and when they first discussed this with healthcare providers. These data support a need to increase understanding of obesity and improve education concerning its physiological basis and clinical management. In South Korea, from 2009 to 2018, the prevalence of general and abdominal obesity increased to 35.7% and 23.8%, respectively. 6 In a recent paper that investigated the perceptions, attitudes, behaviors, and barriers to effective obesity care in South Korea, we found that people with obesity in South Korea are motivated to lose weight and have expressed interest in healthcare providers being more active in their weight management. 7 to contribute to a better understanding, prevention, and treatment of obesity to improve the lives of those affected, and thereby help reduce the incidence of obesity-related metabolic disorders. As Editor in Chief, I hope that JOMES can contribute to the cure and education of obesity through the sharing of scientific information on the latest developments in obesity among the many international societies dealing with this disorder. JOMES covers multidisciplinary aspects of obesity, particularly its epidemiology, including prevalence and characteristics, etiology, diagnosis, pathophysiology, and management and treatments such as lifestyle modifications and pharmacological therapies. I passionately believe that JOMES is helping to increase knowledge about obesity and is inspiring confidence in the dedication of physicians and scientists to dealing with it. According to initial reports, old age, hypertension, preexisting cardiovascular diseases, and obesity are considered as significant risk factors for the acquisition of coronavirus disease 2019 (COV-ID-19). 8 Thus, the severity of COVID-19 is strongly associated with diabetes mellitus. 9 During the COVID-19 pandemic, the decrease in physical activity and an increase in sedentary time caused by quarantine measures such as social distancing and lockdowns should be a source of concern in terms of the increased risk of obesity. Access to a healthy diet for all is also an issue, and these factors in turn are likely to contribute to gaining weight and metabolic impairments. 10 simplifying the processes of reviewing, editing, and publishing. As noted, since 2017, JOMES has been indexed at many reputable official sites such as PubMed Central, in which I take pride. I believe that it will be accessed and referred to by many people more easily in the near future. In 2020, the JOMES website and submission system have been updated. The function of browsing through the articles has been enhanced with metric information for the journal such as the numbers of journal hits, downloads, and cross-reference citations. This upgrade is increasing the numbers of website visitors, content downloads, and manuscript submission. The JOMES editorial team has focused on improving the journal to become an even more rigorous platform to meet the expectations of clinicians, researchers, policy makers, and readers in the areas of obesity research and management. I firmly believe that our journal will soon be indexed at SCIE and Medline. The author declares no conflict of interest. The epidemiology of obesity: a big picture The epidemiology of obesity Socioeconomic status and obesity in adult populations of developing countries: a review Obesity and socioeconomic status in developing countries: a systematic review Gaps to bridge: misalignment between perception, reality and actions in obesity and social factors Perceptions, attitudes, behaviors, and barriers to effective obesity care in South Korea: results from the ACTION-IO study Clinical characteristics of Covid-19 in New York City COVID-19 and diabetes mellitus: from pathophysiology to clinical management Collateral damage of the COVID-19 pandemic on nutritional quality and physical activity: perspective from South Korea Proper management of people with obesity during the COVID-19 pandemic Korean Society for the Study of Obesity Guideline for the management of obesity in Korea Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome: a new international journal targeting the pathophysiology and treatment of obesity and metabolic syndrome Journal statistics, coping strategy with upcoming scholarly journal publishing environment including Plan-S, and appreciation for reviewers and volunteers