Almost one-third of the world is now overweight, according to a new global study published in the medical journal The Lancet. Reviewing studies from over 188 countries, the researchers found that more than 2 billion people worldwide are overweight or obese. The current numbers show that a global health crisis is imminent unless urgent steps are taken.
The researchers predicted even larger increases in obesity as incomes rise in low- and middle-income countries. As incomes increase, so does average weight. Now, nearly a quarter of all children in developed countries and 13 percent in undeveloped countries are overweight. Those rates are up from 16 percent and 8 percent, respectively, in 1980.
Over the last 33 years, no nation achieved a lower obesity rate. The results of the analysis predict a new global wave of diseases and condition that may slow down and even reduce recently increased life expectancy rates.