New Lancet study reveals the extent of worldwide obesity epidemic and which countries are impacted the most
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A new report published by the Lancet has revealed that more than half of all overweight or obese adults live in just eight countries.
The country with the most overweight or obese individuals is China (402 million), followed by India (180 million), the US (172 million), Brazil (88 million), Russia (71 million), Mexico (58 million), Indonesia (52 million) and Egypt (41 million).
The report also projected a significant increase in obesity across the world over the next few decades. In 1990, the number of overweight or obese people worldwide was 929 million. By 2021, this figure had risen to 2.6 billion. If the same trajectory is followed for the next several decades, researchers estimate 3.8 billion adults will be overweight by 2050, representing a 60 per cent share of the adult population.
‘The unprecedented global epidemic of overweight and obesity is a profound tragedy and a monumental societal failure,’ said lead author Professor Emmanuela Gakidou.
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By 2050, the report forecasts that one in three children and young people living with obesity -130 million individuals – will be from two regions: North Africa and the Middle East, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
According to the researchers, children across the world are experiencing obesity earlier than ever before with significant repercussions on health and increasing the likelihood of diseases including cancer, high blood pressure and heart disease.
Additionally, the Lancet study found that high-income countries were likely to be impacted by obesity. In the 1960s, around 7 per cent of men born in high-income countries were obese by the age of 25; a number that increased to 16 per cent for those born in the 1990s, and expected to reach 25 per cent for men born in 2015.
Study co-author Jessica Kerr from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Australia highlights that ‘much stronger political commitment’ could transform diets across the world.
Researcher at the University of Copenhagen Throrkild Sorensen, who is not involved in the study, explains ‘there remains doubt’ about the underlying causes for the obesity epidemic although poor diet and sedentary lifestyles are drivers. He noted that ‘socially deprived’ groups have a ‘consistent and unexplained tendency’ toward obesity.
Previous studies have shown relationships between obesity and developing countries, caused by steep price differences between healthy and unhealthy foods along with a variety of healthy foods being difficult to obtain. One study conducted by the WHO showed how low-income teenagers face higher risks of obesity, inactivity and poor diets.
