London: A new study warns that obesity and overweight rates are rapidly increasing worldwide, with more than half of all adults and almost a third of children and young people who are expected to be affected by 2050, highlighting what researchers describe as a “monumental societal insufficiency” to address the growing crisis.
That represents more than 3.8 billion adults and 746 million children and adolescents, research published in The lancet saying.
Obesity is associated with a greater risk of serious health problems such as diabetes, some types of cancer and heart disease.
“The unprecedented global epidemic of overweight and obesity is a deep tragedy and a monumental social failure,” said Professor Emmanuela Gakidou, of the Institute of Metricians and Health Evaluation at the University of Washington in the United States.
The team, part of the BMI collaborators of Global Diseases Cargo Study, used data from 204 countries and territories to create their estimates and project what could happen in the future without action.
The overweight and obesity rates have already doubled in the last three decades, with more than 2.100 million adults and 493 million young people from 5 to 24 years affected from 2021, they said.
While the reasons for obesity were complex, governments should use estimates to focus on how to help more at risk, researchers said, particularly around improving access to healthy diets.
The study, funded by the Gates Foundation, had limitations, including data gaps and the use of body mass index as a marker. Nor took into account the potential impact of obesity drugs, which have seen a great demand in richer countries where the researchers said.
The image varies worldwide, but the researchers said that an accelerated increase in obesity among young people and the increase in low and medium income countries where health systems cannot cope with the next load of the disease were particularly worrisome.
That includes a projected increase of 250% in overweight and obesity rates in sub -Saharan Africa. The increase, to 522 million adults and 200 million children and young people, is partly driven by population growth.
A separate study published on Monday, the World Obesity Atlas of the World Obesity Federation, also raised this issue.
“The most affected regions are developing countries,” said Simon Barquera, president of the Federation.
Obesity ATLAS suggested that 79% of adults and 88% of children with obesity and overweight will live in low and medium income countries by 2035, and only 7% of all countries have adequate health systems to deal with this.
“It is really one of the main public health challenges worldwide,” added Barquera.
