The number of people suffering from obesity worldwide is now estimated to be over one billion, having quadrupled since 1990.
According to a study in the Lancet journal released for World Obesity Day (4 March), roughly one in eight people are now obese. Carried out with the World Health Organization (WHO), the study analysed data from 222 million participants across 190 countries.
Francesco Branca, director of nutrition for health at the WHO, said the number broke one billion ‘much earlier than anticipated’. While experts were aware that obesity rates were rapidly rising, previous estimates suggested that the landmark figure of one billion would not be reached til 2030.
For the purposes of the study, obesity was defined as a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or over. Around 890 million adults and 160 million children met this threshold. Roughly two and a half billion adults were overweight (with a BMI of 25 kg/m2 or over).
‘A problem of the world’
Rates of obesity were higher in women than men, at 504 million compared to 374 million. However the number of obese men had tripled since 1990, suggesting than obesity is rising faster among men.
Countries in Polynesia and Micronesia, the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa have been disproportionately affected by the rise. These areas also had high rates of unhealthily low weight, referred to by the authors of the study as a ‘double burden’.
The study said: ‘These countries now have higher obesity prevalence than industrialised high-income countries.’
Dr Branca said that obesity has previously been seen as ‘a problem of the rich’. He suggests that the results of the study mean it is now ‘a problem of the world’.
Private companies ‘must be accountable’
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is director-general of the WHO. He said: ‘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
‘Getting back on track to meet the global targets for curbing obesity will take the work of governments and communities, supported by evidence-based policies from WHO and national public health agencies.
‘Importantly, it requires the cooperation of the private sector, which must be accountable for the health impacts of their products.’
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