Study released by the Lancet medical journal revealed that more than one billion people worldwide are suffering from obesity with the number having more than quadrupled since 1990.
According to the study explained by the World Health Organisation, the epidemic is affecting poorer countries and the rate is growing among children and adolescent faster than adults.
Study released ahead of World Obesity Day on March 4, disclosed that there were about 226 million obese adults, adolescents and children in the world in 1990. The figure had increased to 1,038 million in 2022.
Director of nutrition for health at the WHO, Francesco Branca, noted that the rise past one billion people has come “much earlier than we have anticipated”.
The study said, “the chronic and complex illness is accompanied by a greater risk of death from heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. Being overweight increased the risk of death during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Countries in Polynesia and Micronesia, the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa now have higher obesity rates than many high-income industrialised countries, especially those in Europe.
In the past we have tended to think of obesity as a problem of the rich, now a problem of the world,” said Branca, who highlighted the fast lifestyle changes in low and middle-income countries.
The study’s lead author, Majid Ezzati, said there were signs that obesity was levelling out in some southern European countries such as France and Spain, “especially for women”.
While not eating enough is the main cause of being under-weight, eating badly is a prime factor for obesity.
WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said “this new study highlights the importance of preventing and managing obesity from early life to adulthood, through diet, physical activity, and adequate care, as needed,” said WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
He noted that “getting back on track” to meet global targets for cutting obesity rates “requires the cooperation of the private sector, which must be accountable for the health impacts of their products”.
