What is reason behind alarming surge in obesity rates?

New data from research has shown that the global rate of obesity has quadrupled in children and doubled in adults since 1990.

The global rate of obesity has quadrupled in children and doubled in adults since 1990, according to a new analysis published in The Lancet, a medical journal, on March 1, 2024.

Approximately 1 billion people in the world—that’s 1 in 8 of the global population—are obese, with a body mass index (BMI) over 30.

The World Health Organization describes BMI as “a simple index of weight-for-height that is commonly used to classify overweight and obesity in adults.” It is calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by the square of their height in meters (kg/m2).

Francesco Branca, Director of the WHO’s Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, mentioned that the organization had previously estimated that the global rate of obesity would reach a billion people in 2030. Contrary to expectations, this increase in obesity is not primarily occurring in rich countries.

The new data revealed that while obesity rates are generally starting to plateau in many wealthy nations, they are growing rapidly among both adults and children in low-to-middle-income countries, such as Egypt, Iraq, Libya, South Africa, and Chile. , with Syria, Turkey, and Mexico not far behind.

The number of people starving is falling. The new data shows some progress in reducing the number of people who are starving across the globe. Over the past 30 years, the global proportion of underweight adults has halved, falling by a fifth in girls and a third in boys under the age of 18 years.

However, the study reveals that in some countries, the situation has not improved. The proportion of underweight adults in countries like Ethiopia and Uganda, for example, has barely changed.

In contrast, other countries, such as India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, have seen the proportion of underweight adults decline sharply.

Nevertheless, Pakistan appears to have traded one form of malnutrition for another. While the proportion of underweight adults has dropped from 27 percent to 7 percent since 1990, the proportion of obese adults has risen from 3 percent to 24 percent in the same period.