TOPICS

Study Shows Obesity Rate Exceeds 10 Percent Worldwide

By Dr Deepu

 Researchers say the global obesity problem now affects one in ten people in the world. An estimated 603 million adults are obese, including 107 million children.

        Excess weight accounted for four million deaths worldwide, 70 percent from cardiovascular disease, and it turns out, almost 40 percent of those deaths were in people who were overweight, not obese, the study found.
        The findings were published in a study in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers found that obesity rates at least doubled in 73 countries between 1980 and 2015 and continuously increased in most other countries. The researchers analyzed some 1,800 data sets from around the world, and found that excess weight played a role in four million deaths in 2015, from heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease and other factors.

        About 30% of the world’s population is affected by weight problems. Individuals were classified as overweight if their body mass index was in the 25 to 29 range, while obesity is defined as anyone with a BMI of 30 or more.
 US has the highest rate of obesity among children and young adults at almost 13%, while Egypt has the highest adult obesity rate at 35%, according to the same study