Half of the population will be overweight in 2035 – 03/03/2023 – Equilibrium

More than half of the world’s population will be classified as obese or overweight by 2035 if measures are not taken to contain the problem, warns the World Obesity Federation.

More than four billion people will be affected, with rates rising the fastest, particularly among children, according to the report.

Low- and middle-income countries in Africa and Asia are expected to see the biggest increases.

The report predicts that the cost of obesity will reach more than $4 trillion a year by 2035.

The federation’s president, Louise Baur, described the report’s conclusions as a clear warning for countries to take action now in order to avoid problems in the future.

The report highlights, in particular, rising obesity rates among children and adolescents, which are expected to double from 2020 levels among both boys and girls.

According to Baur, this trend is “particularly worrying”.

“Governments and policymakers around the world need to do everything they can to avoid passing on health, social and economic costs to the younger generation,” she says.

The effects of obesity prevalence in low-income countries are also highlighted in the report. Nine of the 10 countries with the largest expected increases in obesity rates globally are low- and lower-middle-income nations in Africa and Asia.

Among the reasons are the tendency to include highly processed foods in the diet, higher levels of sedentary behavior, weaker public policies to control food supply and advertising, and health services with less resources to help with weight control and education. in health.

Low-income countries are “often the least able to respond to obesity and its consequences”.

The findings estimate that rising obesity rates worldwide will have a significant impact on the global economy, amounting to 3% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The report makes clear that the economic impact of obesity “is in no way a reflection of the guilt of people living with obesity.”

The data published in the report will be presented to the United Nations (UN) on Monday.

Obesity is the medical term used to describe a condition characterized by excessive accumulation of body fat.

The report uses body mass index (BMI) to make its assessments. BMI is calculated by dividing an adult’s weight by their height squared.