Current:Home > ScamsHalf of world on track to be overweight or obese by 2035, report says-LoTradeCoin
Half of world on track to be overweight or obese by 2035, report says
View Date:2024-12-25 21:02:07
More than half of the world's population will be obese or overweight by 2035, according to a new report from the World Obesity Federation.
In the 2023 World Obesity Atlas report, the organization projected that 51% of the global population will be "living with overweight and obesity within 12 years if prevention, treatment and support do not improve."
If current trends prevail, the report also predicts childhood obesity could more than double compared to 2020 levels.
"Rates are predicted to double among boys to 208 million (100% increase) and more than double among girls to 175 million (125% increase) and are rising more rapidly among children than adults," the report states.
The World Health Organization defines overweight and obesity "as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. A body mass index (BMI) over 25 is considered overweight, and over 30 is obese."
The increases forecast in the report would mean 1 in 4 people will be living with obesity, compared to 1 in 7 today.
"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," said Louise Baur, president of the World Obesity Federation, in a statement about the report. "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."
While obesity is often seen as an issue for wealthier countries, where rates are generally higher, the report found lower income countries are facing rapid increases‚ adding that these countries are the"least able to respond to obesity and its consequences."
- Recognizing and treating obesity as a disease
- Consider drugs and surgery early for obesity in kids, new guidelines say: "Waiting doesn't work"
"Of the 10 countries with the greatest expected increases in obesity globally (for both adults and children), 9 of those are from low or lower-middle income countries," the report states.
Overweight and obesity are risk factors for a number of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease and stroke, diabetes and certain cancers. Childhood obesity is associated with a range of serious health complications as well as an increased risk of premature onset of related illnesses.
BMI is a formula that uses a person's height and weight ratio to assess whether they're underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese, although it is not a direct measure of body fat.
While it's a tool that's been used by doctors for decades, the system of measuring has increasingly coming under fire with critics denouncing BMI as not just unreliable but sexist and racist. And as CBS Reports found in a 2020, even many clinicians who see value in it also recognize its flaws.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers BMI an "inexpensive and easy screening method" that is "strongly correlated" with weight-related medical conditions.
- In:
- Obesity
- Weight Loss
veryGood! (45)
Related
- Everard Burke Introduce
- Finland extends closure of Russian border for another month, fearing a migrant influx
- Greek government’s plans to legalize same-sex marriage win key opposition backing
- Patriots agree to hire Jerod Mayo has next head coach, Bill Belichick’s successor
- US inflation may have picked up in October after months of easing
- New York City schools feeling strain of migrant surge
- Jelly Roll, former drug dealer and current Grammy nominee, speaks against fentanyl to Senate
- Japan launches an intelligence-gathering satellite to watch for North Korean missiles
- Democratic state leaders prepare for a tougher time countering Trump in his second term
- Popular myths about sleep, debunked
Ranking
- Judge hears case over Montana rule blocking trans residents from changing sex on birth certificate
- František Janouch, a Czech nuclear physicist who supported dissidents from Sweden, dies at age 92
- This 'self-eating' rocket consumes itself for fuel. Scientists hope it'll curb space junk.
- The lawsuit that could shake up the rental market
- Inside Dream Kardashian's Sporty 8th Birthday Party
- Why more women are joining a lawsuit challenging Tennessee's abortion ban
- People’s rights are threatened everywhere, from wars to silence about abuses, rights group says
- Bill Belichick-Patriots split: What we know and what's next for head coach, New England
Recommendation
-
Black and Latino families displaced from Palm Springs neighborhood reach $27M tentative settlement
-
Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter crashes near Mexican border with minor injury reported
-
Hunter Biden pleads not guilty to federal tax charges
-
Mel Tucker appeal of sexual harassment case denied, ending Michigan State investigation
-
Zendaya Shares When She Feels Extra Safe With Boyfriend Tom Holland
-
Pennsylvania police officer shot, suspect injured during confrontation
-
Bayreuth Festival to have three women conductors, three years after gender barrier broken
-
Jelly Roll urges Congress to pass anti-fentanyl trafficking legislation: It is time for us to be proactive