People are facing the unprecedented obesity epidemic, reveals the research

London: A new study warns that obesity and overweight rates are rapidly increasing around the world, with more than half of adults and almost one -third of children and young people are expected to be affected by 2050, stressing researchers to describe as “monumental”.

This represents more than 3.8 billion adults and 746 million children and adolescents published in the study The Lancet he said.

Obesity is associated with increased risk of serious health problems such as diabetes, certain cancers and heart disease.

“The unprecedented global epidemic of overweight and obesity is a deep tragedy and a monumental social failure,” said lead writer Emmanuela Gakidou of the Institute of Health and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

The team, part of the world weight of BMI partners, used data from 204 countries and territories to reach their estimates and show what could happen in the future without action.

Overweight and obesity rates have already more than doubled in the last three decades, with more than 2.1 billion adults and 493 million young people aged 5-24 years affected by 2021, they said.

While the reasons for obesity were complicated, governments should use estimates to focus on how to help most at risk populations, the researchers said, in particular to improve access to healthy diets.

The study, funded by the Gates Foundation, had limitations, including gaps and the use of the body mass index as an index. It also did not take into account the possible impact of obesity drugs, which have seen huge demand in richer countries where they are available, the researchers said.

The image varies worldwide, but researchers have said that an accelerated increase in obesity among young people and rise in low and medium -income countries, where health systems cannot deal with the upcoming burden on the disease were particularly alarming.

This includes a projected increase of 250% of overweight and obesity rates in sub -Saharan Africa. The rise, in 522 million adults and 200 million children and young people, is partly driven by population growth.

A separate study published on Monday, the global obesity of Atlas of the World Federation of Obesity, also raised this issue.

“The most affected areas are developing countries,” said Simon Barquera, president of the Federation.

Atlas of obesity suggested that 79% of adults and 88% of children with obesity and overweight will live in low and medium -income countries by 2035 and only 7% of all countries have sufficient health systems to deal with this.

“It’s really one of the main challenges of public health around the world,” Barquera added.