Over one billion people all over the world are battling obesity with the number increasing over fourfold since 1990, according to a study released by the Lancet medical journal.
The research, which was carried out with the World Health Organization, reveals that obesity is affecting low-income countries and the rate grows faster among children and adolescents than among adults.
The study, released before World Obesity Day on March 4, estimated that there were about 226 million obese adults, adolescents and children in the world in 1990 but the figure had risen to 1 billion in 2022.
Lancet said researchers analyzed the weight and height measurements of over 220 million people in over 190 countries to reach the estimates.
According to their estimate, 504 million adult women and 374 million men were obese in 2022. The study said the obesity rate had almost tripled for men (14 percent) since 1990 and more than doubled for women at 18.5 percent.
The study also revealed that 159 million children and adolescents were living with obesity in 2022, up from about 31 million in 1990.
Countries in Polynesia and Micronesia, the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa have suffered more from the increase.
The study said: “These countries now have higher obesity rates than many high-income industrialized countries, especially those in Europe.
Branca, who highlighted the fast lifestyle changes in low and middle-income countries, said: “In the past, we have tended to think of obesity as a problem of the rich, now a problem of the world.”
Majid Ezzati of Imperial College London, who is the study’s lead author, said there were signs that obesity was levelling out in some southern European countries like France and Spain, “especially for women”.
But he said in most countries, more people are suffering from obesity than being under-weight, which according to the study had fallen since 1990.
While talking about this study, WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, 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.”
He noted that “getting back on track” to meet global targets for cutting obesity rates “requires the cooperation of the private sector, which must be accountable for the health impacts of their products”.
