A new report has shown that the number of adults grappling with obesity will increase by the year 2035 if no significant action is taken.
The 2024 World Obesity Atlas report projected that the number of adults living with obesity will rise from 0.81 billion in 2020 to 1.53 billion in 2035.
The report released ahead of World Obesity Day indicates that 79 per cent of adults with overweight and obesity will live in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) by 2035.
Similarly, it highlighted that 88 per cent of children with overweight and obesity will be living in LMICs by 2035.
According to the report, no country in the world is on track to reach the target to ‘halt the rise’ of obesity prevalence by 2030, as set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The report reads in part: “In reality, rather than a zero increase, the World Obesity Atlas 2022 estimated that global obesity is likely to have doubled over this time.
“By 2035, over half the world’s population will be above a healthy weight. The majority of these people will be in middle-income countries, where obesity is often poorly understood and capacity is lacking to address it.”
The report indicates that over 65 per cent of adults who live with obesity globally were living in LMIC in 2020, and this is expected to rise to 7 in 10 adults with obesity in 2030.
Nigeria in retrospect
With focus on Nigeria, the report noted that there is currently a 5.5 per cent annual growth rate in the projected numbers of adults with high Body Max Index (BMI) 2020-2035.
It also revealed an 8.0 per cent annual growth rate in the projected numbers of children with high BMI (2020–2035).
The report noted that in 2019, over 37,000 persons in Nigeria died from stroke due to high BMI while 25,000 persons died from coronary heart disease linked to high BMI. 12,500 persons also died from diabetes linked to high BMI.
In 2020, Nigeria accounted for over 12 million persons estimated to be obese with prevalence considerably higher in women.
What is Obesity?
The World Health Organization defines overweight and obesity “as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health.
A BMI over 25 is considered overweight, and over 30 is obese. In 2019, an estimated five million Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) deaths were caused by higher-than-optimal BMI.
Obesity is one side of the double burden of malnutrition, and today more people are obese than underweight in every region except the South-East Asia Region.
Once considered a problem only in high-income countries, today some middle-income countries have among the highest prevalence of overweight and obesity worldwide.
Tackling obesity
The CEO at the World Obesity Federation, Johanna Ralston said the release of the 2024 Global Atlas highlights the imperative for a paradigm shift in our approach to tackling obesity.
Ms Ralston said the report also underscores how factors driving economic development are contributing to obesity trends.
“We need to stop false tradeoffs between food and health, young and old, developed and developing country, and recognize this is a serious, global challenge that calls for multisectoral solutions and coordinated action,” she said.
Prof Kent Buse, Director of the Healthier Societies Programme at the George Institute for Global Health said It is a common misconception that obesity – and its myriad health implications – are only limited to certain countries in the Global North.
Prof Buse explained that the barriers to healthy and affordable foods, to active transport and much-needed medical support are not limited to what people likely consider to be ‘rich’ countries.
He said governments all over the world need to implement policies that help communities gain access to healthy food and responsive health systems now.
“The projections in the Global Atlas make very clear what the alternative is and it is a frightening prospect,” he said.