Report: More than half of the world will be obese by 2035

More than half of the world’s population will be overweight or obese by 2035, says a new report by the World Obesity Federation.

The report said 51 percent of the world or more than 4 billion people will be obese or overweight within the next 12 years if significant action is not taken.

The report used body mass index (BMI) for its assessments. BMI is calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by their height in metres squared.

The World Health Organisation (WHO)  says a BMI score over 25 is overweight and over 30 is obese.

The report noted that failure to improve prevention and treatment could contribute to a total economic impact of $4.32 trillion by 2035 – nearly 3 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP).

“These new figures represent a significant increase on current levels and lend urgency to the World Obesity Federation’s calls for the development of national obesity action plans around the world,” the report reads.

“Compiled by the World Obesity Federation, the World Obesity Atlas 2023 presents a series of obesity prevalence projections for the period 2020 to 2035. Worryingly, over half of the global population is expected to have a high body mass index (BMI ≥25kg/m2) by the end of this period, and 1 in 4 people will be living with obesity (BMI ≥30kg/m2) compared to 1 in 7 today.”

The report also noted that obesity is rising particularly quickly among children and that lower-income countries are facing rapid increases in obesity prevalence.

“Childhood obesity is rising particularly fast. Rates are expected to double among boys by 2035 to 208 million, and to increase by 125% among girls to 175 million,” the report said.

“In all, over 1.5 billion adults and nearly 400 million children will be living with obesity in 12 years’ time unless significant action is taken.

“Of the 10 countries with the greatest expected increases in obesity globally (for both adults and children), 9 of those are from low or lower-middle-income countries. All are from either Asia or Africa.”

Describing the data as a “clear warning”, Louise Baur, president of the World Obesity Federation, said that policymakers needed to act now to prevent the situation from worsening.

“It is particularly worrying to see obesity rates rising fastest among children and adolescents,” Baur said in a statement.

“Governments and policymakers around the world need to do all they can to avoid passing health, social and economic costs on to the younger generation.”