A shocking new report may put many people on notice.
Without significant action to change this trend, more than half of the world’s population will be overweight or obese by 2035, according to a new report.
The World Obesity Federation’s 2023 Atlas predicts that 51% of the world, or more than 4 billion people, will be obese or overweight in the next 12 years, according to Reuters.
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The report found that obesity rates are increasing rapidly, particularly among children and in low-income countries.
Saying the data represents a “clear warning,” World Obesity Federation president Louis Bauer said in a statement that policymakers must act quickly to prevent the situation from worsening.
The World Obesity Federation’s 2023 Atlas predicts that 51% of the world, or more than 4 billion people, will be obese or overweight in the next 12 years. (iStock)
Baur is a Sydney, Australia-based academic pediatrician, according to the World Obesity Federation.
“It is particularly alarming to see obesity rates rising most rapidly among children and adolescents,” he said in a statement.
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“Governments and policymakers around the world need to do everything they can to avoid passing the health, social and economic costs on to younger generations,” he added.
“It is particularly alarming to see obesity rates rising most rapidly among children and adolescents.”
The World Obesity Federation, formerly the International Association for the Study of Obesity and the International Obesity Task Force, is the only global organization focused exclusively on obesity, according to its website.
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“World Obesity represents stakeholders in high-, middle- and low-income countries, including experts, advocates, patients and practitioners,” the group said in its work description.
“Governments and policymakers around the world need to do everything they can to avoid passing the health, social and economic costs on to younger generations,” the World Obesity Federation noted in a statement. (iStock)
“It is a key partner for global agencies on obesity, including the World Health Organization (WHO) – with which it has formal consultative status, endorsed by the World Health Assembly.”
It has offices in London.
Childhood obesity can more than double
The new report found that childhood obesity could double from 2020 levels — to 208 million boys and 175 million girls by 2035, the group said.
The cost to society, it added, would be significant due to health conditions associated with being overweight, as Reuters also reported.
The authors are calling for “a focus on the social, environmental and biological factors involved in the conditions.”
This cost will exceed $4 trillion annually by 2035, or 3% of global GDP.
The authors point out that they’re not blaming anyone — but “calling for attention to the social, environmental and biological factors involved in the circumstances,” as Reuters noted.
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The report used body mass index (BMI) for assessments. (BMI uses weight and height to classify a person’s weight status as underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese.)
According to World Health Organization guidelines, a BMI score of more than 25 is overweight and more than 30 is obese.
The report found that almost all of the countries most likely to experience the greatest increase in obesity in the coming years are low- or middle-income countries in Asia and Africa. (iStock)
In 2020, 2.6 billion people fell into these categories – or 38% of the world’s population.
The report also found that almost all of the countries expected to experience the largest increases in obesity in the coming years are low- or middle-income countries in Asia and Africa.
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Reuters noted that the data is to be presented to UN policymakers and member states next week.
In the US, obesity affected nearly 20% of children between the ages of 2 and 19 between 2017 and 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as Fox News Digital previously reported.
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When left untreated, obesity can lead to heart disease, diabetes, depression and other chronic conditions.
Reuters contributed to the reporting of this article.
