The World Obesity Foundation has reported that more than half of the world's population will be overweight or obese by the year 2035.
According to the research carried out by the World Obesity Foundation, 38% of the world population, or about 2.6 billion people, are already overweight or obese. However, according to the current trends, it is projected that 51% of the world population, or more than 4 billion people, will be overweight or obese by 2035.
It is particularly worrying that the rates of obesity are rising rapidly among children and teenagers. The report stated that childhood obesity in boys would double to 208 million by 2035. Rates of obesity are expected to rapidly increase by 125% (more than double) in girls to 175 million by 2035.
The report has also pointed out that low and middle-income countries in Asia and Africa will see the greatest rise in the number of obese people.
India is currently facing an epidemiological shift due to an increase in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases. Obesity is a huge risk factor for non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension, and stroke. Therefore, an increase in the number of obese people can be a huge issue for India.
The cost of obesity is expected to be more than $4 trillion annually by 2035. This amount to around 3% of the global GDP.
The primary motive of the report was to make sure that governments and policymakers understand the gravity of the situation.
Policymakers should consider the physical, mental, societal, and environmental factors that affect obesity and make provisions accordingly.
The report considered BMI (Body-Mass Index) as an indicator of obesity. It is calculated by weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. According to WHO, a BMI of 25 is considered to be overweight, and a BMI of 30 is obese.
(Input from various media sources)