Overweight and obesity in developing countries 'alarming'

The 'alarming' rise in overweight and obese adults in developing countries is growing into a huge public health burden, says one of the authors of a new report from a UK think tank.

The 130-page report, Future Diets, from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), which shows a comprehensive analysis of what the world eats, estimates one in three adults around the world is now either overweight or obese, and criticizes governments for failing to tackle the crisis.

It describes how in developing countries, the number of overweight and obese adults has risen from 250 million to nearly a billion in the last 30 years, and numbers are also continuing to rise in richer nations, growing by around 200 million to nearly 600 million over the same period.

By analyzing existing data, the authors show how since 1980, overweight and obesity rates have nearly doubled in China and Mexico, and risen by a third in South Africa, which has now overtaken the UK in the obesity stakes.

And in terms of regions, overweight and obesity rates in North Africa, the Middle East and Latin America have caught up with Europe.

The implications for public health are huge, as co-author Steve Wiggins, an ODI research fellow, explains:

"The growing rates of overweight and obesity in developing countries are alarming. On current trends, globally, we will see a huge increase in the number of people suffering certain types of cancer, diabetes, strokes and heart attacks, putting an enormous burden on public healthcare systems."

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