More than 1 billion people worldwide, including 880 million adults and 159 million children, are currently living with obesity, as revealed by a recent report published in The Lancet. This staggering statistic equates to approximately 1 in 8 individuals globally grappling with obesity. Alongside this alarming figure, the report highlights that about 2.5 billion adults were overweight, with 43% falling into this category and 16% classified as obese. Notably, obesity rates saw significant increases across various demographics during the study period spanning from 1990 to 2022.
Among girls, obesity rates surged from 1.7% to 6.9%, and among boys, from 2.1% to 9.3%. Similarly, rates climbed for women from 8.8% to 18.5% and for men from 4.8% to 14%. This marked increase underscores a troubling trend, with obesity quadrupling among children and adolescents and nearly tripling among men over the past three decades. Conversely, there has been a notable decline in the proportion of adults classified as underweight, dropping by 50% over the same period.
The prevalence of obesity has surpassed earlier predictions, with the global tally already exceeding the anticipated 1 billion mark by 2030. This revelation underscores the urgent need to address the escalating obesity crisis on a global scale. Malnutrition, in its various forms, including undernutrition and obesity, poses significant health risks. While undernutrition contributes to child mortality, obesity is linked to noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and certain cancers. It also adversely affects quality of life and has profound economic implications.
Of particular concern is the fact that obesity has become the most prevalent form of malnutrition in most countries, surpassing undernutrition. This shift is largely attributed to the decline in the proportion of underweight individuals, both adults and children. Despite global progress, undernutrition remains a pressing public health concern, particularly in regions such as South-East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
The study involved a collaboration of over 1,500 researchers from more than 190 countries, working in conjunction with the World Health Organization (WHO). Their comprehensive analysis, which included data from over 220 million individuals aged five and above, relied on body mass index (BMI) as a measure, despite its imperfections.
Countries grappling with the highest combined rates of underweight and obesity are primarily island nations in the Pacific and Caribbean, as well as those in the Middle East and North Africa. Tonga and American Samoa stand out with the highest obesity rates for women, while American Samoa and Nauru lead in men, with obesity affecting 70-80% of adults in these regions.
The UK and the US also feature prominently in global obesity rankings, with the UK ranking 55th highest for men and 87th for women, while the US ranks 10th highest for men and 36th highest for women. Various factors contribute to the obesity epidemic, including genetics, biology, access to healthcare, and the availability of calorie-dense foods lacking essential nutrients.
Researchers express concerns that major global issues such as climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and conflicts like the war in Ukraine could exacerbate obesity and undernutrition by increasing poverty and altering food availability and affordability. Therefore, urgent and concerted efforts are needed to address the obesity crisis, spanning preventive measures from early life to adulthood and requiring collaboration among governments, communities, and the private sector, with a focus on accountability for the health impacts of products.
The World Obesity Federation has issued a stark warning, projecting that by 2035, over half of the global population will be classified as obese or overweight, affecting more than four billion individuals. Of this staggering figure, nearly two billion people are expected to have obesity. Particularly alarming is the prediction that childhood obesity rates could more than double by 2035, with significant increases anticipated among both boys and girls.
The economic ramifications of this global health crisis are profound. The cost of obesity is forecasted to exceed $4 trillion annually by 2035, constituting 3% of global GDP. Moreover, lower-income countries are witnessing rapid rises in obesity prevalence, with many of the nations expected to experience the greatest increases in obesity hailing from low or lower-middle-income countries in Asia or Africa.
Sources:
More than a billion people obese worldwide, research suggests – BBC News
More than a billion people worldwide are obese, research finds | Obesity |The Guardian
Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults – The Lancet
One in eight people are now living with obesity (who.int)
Obesity and overweight (who.int)
Economic impact of overweight and obesity to surpass $4 trillion by 2035 | World Obesity Federation
Half of world on track to be overweight by 2035 – BBC News
Economic impacts of overweight and obesity: current and future estimates for eight countries | BMJ Global Health
Obesity: Health and Economic Consequences of an Impending Global Challenge (worldbank.org)
WOF-Economic-Impacts-2-V2.pdf (worldobesity.org)
Global cost of overweight and obesity will hit $4.32tn a year by 2035, report warns | The BMJ
