The Change Mariner

Global Obesity

My Way News:

About every fourth person on Earth is too fat. Obesity is fast becoming one of the world's leading reasons why people die. In an astonishing testament to globalization, this outbreak of girth is occurring just as doctors everywhere but sub-Saharan Africa are winning the fight against infectious diseases from smallpox to malaria.

Now a new enemy is emerging in the 21st century - our appetite. Around the globe, about 1.7 billion people should lose weight, according to the International Obesity Task Force. Of those who are overweight, about 312 million are obese - at least 30 pounds over their top recommended weight.

Already, a third of all deaths globally are from ailments linked to weight, lack of exercise and smoking. And perhaps most worrisome is obesity's spread beyond wealthy western nations.

From the glaciers of Iceland to the palm-fringed beaches of the Philippines, there are now more fat people in the world than hungry people. And in extreme cases, people who are heavy since childhood could die as much as five to 10 years early.

"The developing world in particular is going to bear the enormous brunt of this weight gain," said Neville Rigby, policy director of the IOTF.

"We're even seeing obesity in adolescents in India now. It's universal. It has become a fully global epidemic - indeed, a pandemic."

Posted by Bob King at May 8, 2004 04:44 PM | TrackBack
Related Categories: Industry - Food | Quadrant - Social | Theme - 'Obesity Epidemic'

Fat : Fighting the Obesity Epidemic
Oxford Press

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The Hungry Gene: The Science of Fat and the Future of Thin
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Food Fight : The Inside Story of the Food Industry, America's Obesity Crisis, and What We Can Do About It
McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books

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Fat Land : How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World
Houghton Mifflin Co

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