An article in The Lancet claims that 1/8 of the global population is obese, and it is not a problem solely of the richest nations any longer.
Obesity is no longer a ‘rich man’s problem’. According to an article published in the British journal The Lancet, twice as many adults and four times as many children have a body mass index (BMI) of over 30.
The World Health Organization Department of Nutrition and Food Safety conducted surveys and compared the percentages of overweight and underweight people with figures from 1990.
Overall, more than a billion people are obese. The World Health Organization had estimated that obesity would hit the one-billion-person mark in 2030. However, that line was crossed in 2022.
Low and middle income countries getting heavier
The new research shows that among G7 nations, only the United States ranks among the nations with the highest percentage of obese people. In the other most economically developed countries, the percentages of overweight people have stayed the same.
Instead, the most growth is seen in the more developed countries of Africa and Latin America. The North Africa and Middle East regions in particular are home to countries with the worst effects of changes in food chains.
Fewer people starving
Overall, the number of people starving in some countries is falling. In 30 years, Of children under 18 years of age, 20% fewer girls and 33% fewer boys were underweight. The percentage of underweight adults has been cut in half. A few countries, such as Ethiopia and Uganda, have seen essentially no change.
Subcontinental Asia has seen proportions of underweight adults plummet, only to be replaced with obesity as a problem. The same is seen in parts of Africa.
Large shifts leading to large people
According to the authors of the Lancet report, the dramatic rise in weight gain among people from these countries lies in a combination of industrialization, biology, and public health policy.
• In developing countries, changes to food production are often not designed to promote the health of the population. The increasing prevalence of highly processed foodstuffs is increasing the intake of sugar and salt in particular.
• For people who were born with a low birth weight or who faced malnutrition as children, the potential for becoming obese in adulthood is also a known problem.
• Government policies to protect consumers from highly processed foods and raise the populace’s understanding of a proper diet have not been developed.
