Two Billion Worldwide Are Obese or Overweight

Two Billion Worldwide Are Obese or Overweight

Obese or Overweight: Study shows it is not only an American problem but an international health crisis

In a sign that the obesity epidemic has become more than simply an American problem. A new study shows that two billion of the world’s population is obese or overweight.

Obese or Overweight

Meanwhile, an increasing number of people are dying from weight-related health issues although they aren’t technically considered obese.

“Excess body fat is among the most challenging public health issues of our time, affecting almost one in every three people,” said study author Ashkan Afshin. He is an assistant professor of international health at the Institute for Health Metrics and Analysis at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Of the 4 million deaths attributed to fat in 2015, 40 percent involved individuals whose body mass index (BMI — a quote of body fat based on height and weight ) was lower than the threshold considered obese.

The analysis, according to data from 195 countries, indicates there’s”an increasing and disturbing global public health crisis” because of overweight and obesity, the study authors stated.

“Individuals who shrug off weight gain do so at their own risk — the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and other life-threatening ailments,” said research co-author Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the institute.

“Those half-serious New Year’s resolutions to lose weight should become yearlong commitments to eliminate weight and prevent future weight gain,” Murray added in an institute news release.

Overweight

The 2.2 billion overweight and obese individuals in 2015 included almost 108 million children and over 600 million adults who were overweight. Obesity rates have doubled in over 70 countries since 1980, and have always increased in the majority of other countries, the study authors stated.

The obesity rate among children is lower than among adults, but the rate of growth in childhood obesity in many countries is higher than that of adults, the researchers said.

One of the 20 most populated nations, the maximum degree of obesity among children and young adults was in america, at almost 13 percent. Egypt had the greatest adult obesity rate, at about 35 percent. The lowest adult obesity rates have been in Bangladesh and Vietnam, at 1 per cent.

China (15.3 million) and India (14.4 million) had the greatest numbers of obese children. The United States (79.4 million) and China (57.3 million) had the greatest numbers of obese adults in 2015.

The findings were published June 12 from the New England Journal of Medicine.

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