At least one in eight people is now obese

This is equivalent to one billion people living with the disease in 2022, a figure that has doubled among adults and quadrupled among young people aged five to 19 since 1990, according to data from the study, published in The Lancet, a Renowned magazine based in the United Kingdom. medical journal.

“This new study highlights the importance of preventing and controlling obesity from the first years of life to adulthood through diet, physical activity and appropriate careas needed,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, who contributed to the study.

Global goals to stop obesity

TO complex chronic diseaseObesity has become a crisis, developing to epidemic proportions reflecting a marked increase in recent decades.

While the causes are well known, as are the evidence-based interventions needed to contain the crisis, the problem is that they are not implemented, according to the UN health agency.

“Getting back on track to meet global goals to curb obesity will require the work of governments and communities, supported by evidence-based policies of the WHO and national public health agencies,” said the UN health chief.

It also requires the cooperation of the private sector, which must be responsible for the health impacts of its products, he added.

The study data also showed that 43 percent of adults were overweight in 2022.

Deadly consequences

In Europe, overweight and obesity are among the main causes of death and disabilityand estimates suggest they cause more than 1.2 million deaths a year, according to the WHO regional office.

Obesity increases the risk of many non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases. Overweight people and those living with obesity have been disproportionately affected by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, often experiencing more severe illness and other complications, the UN health agency said.

It is considered the cause of at least 13 different types of cancer and is probably directly responsible for at least 200,000 new cases of cancer a year across Europe, according to the WHO.

Challenges of malnutrition

Malnutrition, in all its forms, includes obesity, vitamin or mineral insufficiency, and being overweight. It also includes malnutrition, which encompasses wasting, stunting and being underweight (or thin) and is responsible for half of the deaths of children under five years of age.

The study showed that although the Malnutrition rates have decreased.remains a public health challenge in many places, particularly in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

The countries with the highest combined rates of underweight or thinness and obesity in 2022 were the island nations of the Pacific and Caribbean and those of the Middle East and North Africa.

The WHO acceleration plan

At the 2022 World Health Assembly, Member States adopted the WHO acceleration plan to stop obesity, which supports action at the national level until 2030.

Till the date, 31 governments are now leading the way to curb obesity epidemic through the implementation of the plan.

Some of the ways they are doing this include basic interventions like Promotion of breastfeeding and Regulations on the harmful marketing of food. and drinks for the children.

Healthy diets for everyone

One of the study's co-authors, Dr. Francesco Branca, Director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Security at WHO, said there are “significant challenges” in implementing policies that aim to ensure affordable access to healthy diets for all and create environments conducive to physical activity and healthy lifestyles in general.

“Countries must also ensure that Health systems integrate the prevention and management of obesity. to the basic package of services,” he said.

Addressing malnutrition requires action in the agriculture, social protection and health sectors to reduce food insecurity, improve access to safe water and sanitation, and ensure universal access to essential nutritional interventions, according to the UN health agency.

The new study used data from 200 countries and territories, including 3,663 population-based studies with 222 million participants. WHO contributed to the study's data collection and analysis and disseminated the full data set through its Global Health Observatory.