World's Obese Now Outnumber the Underweight

A 5th of the world will be obese by 2025, researchers warn
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 1, 2016 4:00 AM CDT
World's Obese Now Outnumber the Underweight
Office workers eat tacos at an outdoor food stand in Mexico City.   (AP Photo/Ivan Pierre Aguirre)

It's a big world after all: Researchers say that over the last 40 years, the number of obese people worldwide has ballooned and the obese now outnumber the underweight, HealthDay reports. The proportion of obese people worldwide now stands at 11% among men and 15% among women, while 9% of men and 10% of women are underweight, according to researchers who analyzed data on 20 million people in 186 countries for a study in the Lancet medical journal. The researchers warn that if current trends continue, there's no chance of meeting the global target of keeping obesity at 2010 levels in 2025. Instead, they predict that around a fifth of adults worldwide will be obese by 2025.

"Although it is reassuring that the number of underweight individuals has decreased over the last four decades, global obesity has reached crisis point," warns lead researcher Majid Ezzati of Imperial College London. To tackle the crisis, he says, there should be global initiatives to ensure that healthy food isn't more expensive than unhealthy, highly processed food. In a Lancet editorial, George Davey Smith from the University of Bristol says we are living in "a fatter, healthier, but more unequal world." He warns that focusing on obesity in wealthy countries could divert resources away from regions like East Africa and South Asia, where a high proportion of people are still underweight. (Another study found that millions of Americans considered to be obese are actually "quite healthy.")

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X