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Global obesity rate increase highlights need for action
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Substantial rises in obesity rates around the world, with some of the highest increases seen in adults in the United States, warrant quick and concerted action, according to an analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 published in The Lancet.
“Our findings show that increases in the prevalence of obesity have been substantial, widespread, and have arisen over a short time. However, there is some evidence of a plateau in adult obesity rates that provides some hope that the epidemic might have peaked in some developed countries and that populations in other countries might not reach the very high rates of more than 40% reported in some developing countries,” Emmanuela Gakidou, PhD, of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle, said in a press release. “Our analysis suggests that the U.N.’s target to stop the rise in obesity by 2025 is very ambitious and is unlikely to be achieved without concerted action and further research to assess the effect of population-wide interventions, and how to effectively translate that knowledge into national obesity control programs.”
In a systematic investigation of 1,769 surveys, reports and published studies, all of which included data for height and weight gathered through physical measurements and self-reports, Marie Ng, PhD, also of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, and researchers from international organizations estimated the global, regional and national prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adults from 1980 to 2013. Mixed-effects linear regression was used to correct for bias in self-reports. The researchers acquired data for prevalence of obesity and overweight by age, sex, country and year (n=19,244) using a spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression model to estimate with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs).
The number of individuals overweight or obese surged to 2.1 million in 2013, from 857 million in 1980. During the period examined, the prevalence of overweight and obesity rose worldwide by 27.5% for adults and 47.1% for children.
The proportion of adults with BMI ≥25 increased from 28.8% (95% UI, 28.4-29.3) to 36.9% (95% UI, 36.3-37.4) in men and from 29.8% (95% UI, 29.3-30.2) to 38% (95% UI, 37.5-38.5) in women.
In children and adolescents in developed countries, prevalence grew considerably, with 23.8% (95% UI, 22.9-24.7) of boys and 22.6% (95% UI, 21.7-23.6) of girls overweight or obese in 2013 vs. 16.9% (95% UI, 16.1-17.7) of boys and 16.2% (95% UI, 15.5-17.1) of girls in 1980. In developing countries, the same age group saw increases from 8.1% (95% UI, 7.7-8.6) to 12.9% (95% UI, 12.3-13.5) in 2013 for boys and from 8.4% (95% UI, 8.1-8.8) to 13.4% (95% UI, 13-13.9) for girls.
“To counter the impending health effects on populations, especially in low-income and middle-income countries, urgent global leadership is needed to help countries to more effectively intervene against major determinants such as excessive caloric intake, physical inactivity, and active promotion of food consumption by industry,” the researchers wrote.
The estimated prevalence of obesity for adults exceeded 50% in men in Tonga and in women in Kuwait, Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia, Libya, Qatar, Tonga and Samoa. Since 2006, however, the rise in adult obesity in developed countries has slowed.
In an accompanying commentary, Klim McPherson, PhD, MA, of New College, University of Oxford in United Kingdom, said policy change will solve the problem of rising obesity and urged political leaders to act.
“The solution has to be mainly political and the questions remain, as with climate change, where is the international will to act decisively in a way that might restrict economic growth in a competitive world, for the public’s health?” McPherson wrote. “Politicians can no longer hide behind ignorance or confusion.”
Disclosure: This work was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The individual researchers have received lecture fees, consultant fees and grant funding from various sources.
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