Exclusive: experts say obesity rates soaring as governments fail to tackle junk food adverts
Sarah BoseleyLast modified on Wed 2 Oct 2019 20.15 BS
Childhood obesity is rising exponentially worldwide as the relentless marketing of junk foods reaches around the globe and governments do too little to protect their children’s health, according to data shared with the Guardian.The number of obese children globally is predicted to reach 250 million by 2030, up from 150 million now. Only one in 10 countries have even a 50% chance of meeting the World Health Organization target of no rise in child obesity from 2010 to 2025.
The chances of 156 of the 191 countries studied achieving the target are less than 10%, according to the World Obesity Federation, which has compiled the data in the first Childhood Obesity Atlas.
Children who are obese often become adults with obesity, and are likely to develop serious health problems that will shorten their lives, including heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
“The continuing increase in childhood obesity will overwhelm the health services of many countries. The increase shows a critical failure of government to respect and protect our children’s rights to good health,” said Donna Ryan, president of the federation, and Johanna Ralston, its chief executive, in a call to action in the Atlas.
Some countries have low levels of obesity but will not escape the global surge without drastic action. Other countries have moderate or high levels and are not doing enough to stem the tide.
There will be nearly 62 million obese children aged five to 19 in China by 2030, 27 million in India and 17 million in the US. Obesity is damaging the health prospects for rich and poor countries alike. The Democratic Republic of the Congo will have 2.4 million children with obesity, and Tanzania and Vietnam will have 2 million each.
The federation calculated a risk score of an obesity crisis in the coming decade for each of the 191 countries with full data. Highest scoring were some of the Pacific islands, such as the Cook Islands and Palau, with the maximum risk score of 11 points. Puerto Rico and Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, also scored 11 and just behind them was New Zealand with 10.5 points.
250 million children worldwide forecast to be obese by 2030 | The Guardian
Exclusive: experts say obesity rates soaring as governments fail to tackle junk food adverts Sarah BoseleyLast modified on Wed 2 Oct 2019 20.15 BS Childhood obesity is rising exponentially worldwide as the relentless marketing of junk foods reaches around the globe and governments do too little to protect their children’s health, according to data shared… [Read More]
