According to a study released by the Lancet medical journal, more than a billion people worldwide now suffer from obesity and the number has more than quadrupled since 1990. According to the study conducted with the World Health Organization, the “pandemic” is particularly affecting poor countries and rates are increasing faster among children and adolescents than among adults.
The study, released ahead of World Obesity Day on March 4, estimated that there were about 226 million obese adults, adolescents and children in the world in 1990. This figure will increase to 1,038 million in 2022. Francesco Branca, WHO’s director of nutrition for health, said the increase of more than a billion people was “far earlier than we anticipated”. (Also read: Yoga for weight management: 11 exercises to keep obesity away ,
While doctors knew obesity numbers were rising rapidly, the symbolic figure was first expected in 2030. Researchers analyzed weight and height measurements of more than 220 million people in more than 190 countries to reach the estimate, The Lancet said. They estimated that 504 million adult women and 374 million men were obese in 2022. The study said obesity rates have nearly tripled for men (14 percent) and more than doubled for women (18.5 percent) since 1990.
According to the study, about 159 million children and adolescents were living with obesity in 2022, up from about 31 million in 1990. Those with chronic and complex disease have a higher risk of death from heart disease, diabetes, and some 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 have suffered the most from the increase. “These countries now have higher obesity rates than many high-income industrialized countries, especially those in Europe,” the study said. “In the past we thought of obesity as a problem for the rich, but now it’s a global problem,” Branca said.
Wrong eating habits contribute to obesity
“Too fast transformation of food systems is not for the better”. Majid Ezzati of Imperial College London, lead author of the study, said there are signs that obesity is declining in some southern European countries such as France and Spain, “especially for women”. But he said in most countries the number of people who are obese outweighs that of those who are underweight, a trend the study said has declined since the 1990s.
While not eating enough food is the main cause of underweight, bad eating is the main cause of obesity. “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 said getting “back on track” to meet global goals of cutting obesity rates requires “collaboration with the private sector, which must be accountable for the health effects of its products”. WHO has supported taxing sugary beverages, limiting the marketing of unhealthy foods to children, and increasing subsidies for healthy foods.
Experts say new treatments against diabetes could also help tackle obesity. Branca said the new drugs are “an important tool but not the solution to the problem”. “Obesity is a long-term issue and it is important to look at the long-term effects or side effects of these drugs,” he said.
