Obesity rates are rising around the world
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More than one billion people globally (approximately one in eight) suffer from obesity, making it the most common form of malnutrition in almost every country.
Francisco Blanca The World Health Organization (WHO) PhD and colleagues collected data from more than 3,600 studies published over the past 35 years to understand changes in obesity rates between 1990 and 2022. The studies covered nearly 230 million people in 197 countries, which researchers say is a representative sample of more than 99% of the world’s population. The researchers then calculated the participants’ body mass index (BMI) – a score based on height and weight – to estimate how obesity rates had changed over time.
The global prevalence of obesity more than doubled in adults aged 20 and older and more than quadrupled in children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 during the study period. By 2022, approximately 93% of countries will have increased obesity rates among women and girls. This was true for boys in all but five countries. Only one country – France – has not seen an increase in male obesity.
Countries in the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa have seen the largest increases in adult obesity rates. Meanwhile, Brunei, Chile and the island nations of Polynesia, Micronesia and the Caribbean have seen the largest increases in childhood and adolescent obesity.
Obesity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers, and a variety of other health problems. “It is very concerning that obesity, which was evident among adults in much of the world in 1990, is now also seen among school-age children and adolescents,” Majid Ezzati Imperial College London, one of the study’s senior authors, said in a press release.
Researchers believe that processed foods high in calories and sugar are partly responsible for the surge in obesity rates, as they have become increasingly common around the world in recent decades. However, they note that focusing on individual behaviors such as diet and exercise has and will continue to have a small impact on obesity prevalence. To truly prevent and manage obesity, governments around the world must implement policies that make healthy food and physical activity more accessible and affordable, Blanca said in the release.
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