A report published by Lancet magazine, mentions that more than half of the adult population and 1/3 of children and young people worldwide will be either overweight or obese by 2050, without urgent policy reform and action.
The report warns that this phenomenon poses an “unparalleled thread” of early death, disease and financial strain on healthcare systems.
Today, 2,11 billion adults aged 25+ and 493 million children and young people aged five to 24 are either overweight or obese, a number that has risen significantly since 1990 ( 731 million and 198 million respectively.)
The research predicts a particularly alarming rise (121%) of obesity amongst children and young people, with the number of people living with obesity predicted to hit 360 million by 2050.
More than half of the adults that are overweight or obese come from the following 8 countries: China, India, USA, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Indonesia, Egypt
Researchers note that children worldwide tend to put on weight faster than in previous generation leading to obesity occurring earlier, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and cancer at a younger age.
The primary reason for the global rise in obesity is the increasing cost of healthy foods and the shift of consumers towards cheaper, unhealthy, ultra-processed foods, according to the WHO.
At the same time, the lack of an effective health system response to identify excessive weight gain and fat accumulation in their early stages worsens the progression to obesity.
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