A global study predicts that more than half of the global population will be living with overweight and obesity by 2035.
The World Obesity Atlas 2023, published by World Obesity Federation, predicts that the global economic impact of overweight and obesity will reach $4.32 trillion annually by 2035 if prevention and treatment measures do not improve.
The report also predicted that 51% of the global population will be living with overweight or obesity by 2035 based on current trends.
What are overweight and obesity?
According to the NHS, it is estimated that around one in every four adults and one in every five children aged ten to 11 are living with obesity.
To check if an individual is a healthy weight, the body mass index (BMI) system is used.
For most adults, if your BMI is:
- Below 18.5 – the underweight range.
- 18.5 to 24.9 – the healthy weight range.
- 25 to 29.9 – the overweight range.
- 30 to 39.9 – the obese range.
- 40 or above – the severely obese range.
Urgent intervention is needed to tackle this health crisis
The report illuminated that obesity rates are also affecting children. Rates could more than double by 2035 (from 2020 levels). The rates are predicted to double in boys to 208 million (100% increase) and more than double in girls to 175 million (125% increase) and are rising more rapidly in children than adults.
Lower-income countries are facing rapid increases in obesity prevalence. Of the ten countries with the greatest expected increases in obesity globally (for both adults and children), nine are from low or lower-middle-income countries. All are either in Asia or Africa.
To combat these worrying figures, the World Obesity Federation is calling for national action plans to help countries act on World Health Organization (WHO) Recommendations for the Prevention and Management of Obesity. Failing to improve prevention and treatment could lead to a total economic impact of $4.32tn by 2035, nearly 3% of global GDP.
Professor Louise Baur, President of the World Obesity Federation, said: “This year’s Atlas is a clear warning that by failing to address obesity today, we risk serious repercussions in the future. It is particularly worrying to see obesity rates rising fastest among children and adolescents. Governments and policymakers around the world need to do all they can to avoid passing health, social, and economic costs on to the younger generation. That means looking urgently at the systems and root factors that contribute to obesity and actively involving young people in the solutions. If we act together now, we have the opportunity to help billions of people in the future.”
