| News Article Release
A recent study published by the Lancet reveals that over 1 billion people worldwide were living with obesity in 2022. Since 1990, adult obesity has more than doubled, and it has quadrupled among children and adolescents (ages 5 to 19). Additionally, the data shows that 43% of adults were overweight in 2022.
Despite a decline in undernutrition rates, it remains a significant public health challenge in many areas, particularly in South-East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
In 2022, the highest combined rates of underweight and obesity were found in island nations in the Pacific and Caribbean, as well as in the Middle East and North Africa.
Malnutrition includes various forms such as undernutrition (wasting, stunting, underweight), vitamin and mineral deficiencies, overweight, and obesity. Undernutrition contributes to half of all deaths in children under 5, while obesity can lead to noncommunicable diseases like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and some cancers.
The WHO contributed to the data collection and analysis for this study, with the full dataset now available through the Global Health Observatory.
“This new study emphasizes the importance of preventing and managing obesity from early life to adulthood through diet, physical activity, and proper care,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Achieving global targets for reducing obesity will require the combined efforts of governments and communities, supported by evidence-based policies from WHO and national public health agencies. The private sector also needs to be held accountable for the health impacts of their products.”
Obesity is a complex chronic disease with well-known causes and interventions that are strongly supported by evidence. However, these interventions are not being fully implemented. At the 2022 World Health Assembly, Member States adopted the WHO Acceleration Plan to combat obesity, supporting country-level actions through 2030. To date, 31 governments are leading efforts to address the obesity epidemic by implementing this plan.
Key interventions include:
- Promoting, protecting, and supporting breastfeeding from day one
- Regulating harmful marketing of food and beverages to children
- Implementing school food and nutrition policies, including regulating the sale of high-fat, sugar, and salt products near schools
- Applying fiscal and pricing policies to promote healthy diets
- Enforcing nutrition labeling policies
- Running public education and awareness campaigns on healthy diets and exercise
- Setting standards for physical activity in schools
- Integrating obesity prevention and management services into primary health care
"Significant challenges remain in implementing policies that ensure affordable access to healthy diets and create environments that promote physical activity and overall healthy lifestyles for all," said Dr. Francesco Branca, Director of WHO’s Nutrition and Food Safety Department and a co-author of the study. "Countries should also ensure that health systems include the prevention and management of obesity in their basic service packages."
Addressing undernutrition requires a multisectoral approach in agriculture, social protection, and health to reduce food insecurity, improve access to clean water and sanitation, and ensure universal access to essential nutrition interventions.
"One in Eight People are Now Living with Obesity". March 1, 2024
https://www.who.int/news