One third of people suffer from obesity

Study: 2.1 billion people worldwide are too fat

05/29/2014

As a new study shows, the number of overweight people worldwide has increased dramatically in recent decades. About a third of humanity is too fat. In Germany it is every second. Those who weigh too much increase their risk of diseases such as diabetes, cancer or cardiovascular disease.

Proportion of obese people increased worldwide
Around a third of the world's people are too fat. According to a recent report, nationwide, more than half of the adults are too fat, with men being particularly affected. Accordingly, 49 percent of women and 64 percent of men in Germany weigh too much. As the researchers in the journal "The Lancet" report, "the proportion of obese people has increased significantly worldwide." The researchers compared the data on obesity and obesity from 188 countries in 1980 and 2013 in the study funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Germany is one of the top ten
According to researchers around Marie Ng of the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), in 2013, 2.1 billion people were over-burdened worldwide. In 1980 it had been 857 million. Due to population growth alone, the increase can not be explained. The proportion of thicknesses has increased in both industrialized and developing countries, with more men in industrialized nations and more women in poorer countries. As the researchers report, more than half of the most overweight people in ten countries live. These include the USA, China, India, Russia, Brazil Mexico, Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia and Germany. In proportion to the population, the two South Sea nations of Tonga and Samoa are in the top places of overweight for both men and women.

Overweight increases disease risks
In their study, the scientists used the so-called body mass index (BMI) as a criterion for obesity. This is derived from the height and body weight of a person. The weight in kilograms is divided by the square of the size (meters). Being overweight means having a BMI over 25 and over a BMI over 30 starting obesity. With increasing weight, the risks for diseases such as diabetes, cancer or cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure or heart attack increase. "Obesity is a problem that affects people of all ages and incomes - everywhere," said IHME Director Christopher Murray. Most of the 671 million people who have a BMI of 30 or higher live in the United States. However, over the past three decades, the largest increases in obesity have occurred in Middle Eastern countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Oman.

Worrying increase in children and adolescents
Emmanuela Gakidou of the University of Washington said: "Our data show a significant and comprehensive increase in a short time." But there are signs that the proportion of obese people in some industrialized nations is not rising any further. However, it is worrying that more and more children and adolescents are overweight or obese. "We know that adiposity in childhood has serious downstream health effects, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and many cancers," says author Marie Ng. According to the study, about one in five children, adolescents and young adults in Germany is overweight and around one in twenty is even obese. In the over-20s, the proportion of Germans with a high BMI is even greater. According to the study, 64 percent of these men and 49 percent of these women are overweight in Germany.

Politics called to action
Among the causes of overweight and obesity are in addition to improper diet and too little exercise, certain medications, stress, lack of sleep and genetic predispositions. The scientists appeal to the politicians to take care of the problems. Also, Oxford University's Oxford University's Mc McClean, commenting on the work of Marie Ng and colleagues in an accompanying commentary on the study, called on politics to do more to address the growing problem of obesity. In Germany too, experts want more involvement from the state. Since appeals to reason failed, for example, the German Diabetes Society (DDG) calls for a sugar-fat tax against obesity. This could also be an incentive for the food industry to change their recipes and, for example, to use less sugar. (Sb)