Global study finds alarming rise in obesity; India, China among worst hit

A new, comprehensive analysis published in the prestigious medical journal Lancet on Thursday paints a frightening portrait of the global obesity pandemic.

Analysing data from a wide variety of international sources, the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 finds that from 1980 through 2013, the worldwide prevalence of overweight and obesity rose by 27.5 per cent for adults and an even more alarming 47.1 per cent for children. The result was an absolute increase from 857 million overweight and obese people in 1980 to 2.1 billion in 2013.

For men, the proportion with a BMI of 25 or greater increased from 28.8 per cent to 36.9 per cent; while for women, the proportion increased from 29.8 per cent to 38.0 per cent.

Although the increase was observed in every country, the patterns were different between developed and developing countries. In developed countries, there were more men than women who were overweight or obese; in developing countries, the pattern was reversed. In 2013, nearly a quarter of children and adolescents in developed countries were overweight or obese.

The multinational team of researchers reported that the biggest gains in overweight and obesity took place between 1992 and 2002. One thin silver lining is that the increase in adult obesity appeared to slow starting in 2006.

According to the study, 13 per cent of the obese people in the world are in the US and an eye-opening 15 per cent in China and India; a clear indication of how economic progress has wreaked havoc on waistlines in developing economies; though the proportion in terms of sex clearly indicates continued gender inequality in these societies.

In 2010, obesity (and being overweight) caused the death of 3.4 million people, according to study conducted by the Seattle-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Most of the deaths were caused by cardiovascular conditions.

''Obesity is an issue affecting people of all ages and incomes, everywhere,'' said Christopher Murray, director of Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, a co-founder of the study, in a press release. ''In the last three decades, not one country has achieved success in reducing obesity rates, and we expect obesity to rise steadily as incomes rise in low- and middle-income countries in particular, unless urgent steps are taken to address this public health crisis.''

The study shows that between 1980 and 2013, the prevalence of overweight or obese children and adolescents increased by nearly 50 per cent. In 2013, more than 22 per cent of girls and nearly 24 per cent of boys living in developed countries were found to be overweight or obese.

Developing countries also recorded high levels of childhood obesity, where nearly 13 per cent of boys and more than 13 per cent of girls are overweight or obese.

''The rise in obesity among children is especially troubling in so many low and middle-income countries,'' said Marie Ng, assistant professor of global health at IHME and the paper's lead author. ''We know that there are severe downstream health effects from childhood obesity, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and many cancers. We need to be thinking about how to turn this trend around.''