A Third of Overweight and Obese Individuals Will Reside in MENA and Latin America/Caribbean Regions, Researchers Warn
Nearly 60% of all adults and a third of all children worldwide will be overweight or obese by 2050 unless governments intervene, according to a new study. Published in The Lancet medical journal on Tuesday, the research utilized data from 204 countries to highlight what it described as one of the most significant health challenges of the century.
“The unprecedented global epidemic of overweight and obesity is a profound tragedy and a monumental societal failure,” said lead author Emmanuela Gakidou from the U.S.-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in a statement.
The study revealed that the number of overweight or obese individuals worldwide skyrocketed from 929 million in 1990 to 2.6 billion in 2021. Without significant changes, researchers estimate that 3.8 billion adults—nearly 60% of the global adult population—will be overweight or obese by 2050.
Health systems worldwide are expected to face immense strain, with approximately a quarter of the world’s obese population being over 65 years old by that time. Additionally, the study predicts a 121% increase in childhood and adolescent obesity globally.
A third of all obese young people will reside in two regions—the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Latin America and the Caribbean—by 2050, according to the research.
However, study co-author Jessica Kerr from Australia’s Murdoch Children’s Research Institute emphasized that it’s not too late to act. “Much stronger political commitment is needed to transform diets within sustainable global food systems,” she said. Kerr also highlighted the need for strategies to improve nutrition, physical activity, and living environments, addressing issues like excessive processed food consumption and insufficient access to parks.
The study noted that more than half of the world’s overweight or obese adults already live in just eight countries: China, India, the United States, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Indonesia, and Egypt.
Thorkild Sorensen, a researcher at the University of Copenhagen who was not involved in the study, pointed out that while poor diet and sedentary lifestyles are clear drivers of the obesity epidemic, the underlying causes remain uncertain. For instance, socially deprived groups exhibit a “consistent and unexplained tendency” toward obesity, he wrote in a linked comment in The Lancet.
This issue was further highlighted in a separate study published on Monday—the World Obesity Atlas by the World Obesity Federation. Simon Barquera, the federation’s president, noted, “The most affected regions are developing countries.”
The Obesity Atlas projected that by 2035, 79% of adults and 88% of children with overweight or obesity will reside in low- and middle-income countries. Alarmingly, only 7% of all countries have adequate health systems in place to address this crisis.
“It’s really one of the main public health challenges around the world,” Barquera added.
For the latest updates and more news, visit ZTC News and ZNews Today. Stay informed!