LONDON: A new study warns that obesity and overweight rates are rapidly increasing worldwide, with more than half of all adults and nearly a third of children and young people expected to be affected by 2050, highlighting what researchers describe as a “monumental societal failure” to address the growing crisis.
That represents more than 3.8 billion adults and 746 million children and adolescents, research published in The Lancet said.
Obesity is associated with an increased risk of serious health problems like diabetes, some cancers, and heart disease.
“The unprecedented global epidemic of overweight and obesity is a profound tragedy and a monumental social failure,” said lead author Professor Emmanuela Gakidou from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in the US.
