For long, the international community was concerned with malnutrition and the consequent underweight population in the world, especially the underdeveloped world. However, obesity is currently emerging as a new threat to the global community. It has affected not only the affluent but also contrary to popular belief, it has become a pertinent problem in the developing nations as well.
According to WHO, globally there are 1 billion overweight adults; at least 300 million of them are clinically obese. This has been a major contributor to rapid rise in chronic diseases including Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke and certain forms of cancer.
The major reason for rise in ‘Globosity’ is increased consumption of high calorie, nutrient poor foods with high levels of sugar and saturated fats. The change in the diet pattern coupled with reduced physical activity, have increased the obesity rate over three-fold since 1980 in some areas of North America, the United Kingdom, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Pacific Islands, Australasia and China. The obesity epidemic has also reached the developing countries as well, where the rate of growth of the overweight population is often more than in the developed nations. What is most disturbing in the global obesity scenario is that childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions. According to WHO, an estimated 22 million children worldwide under five are overweight. According to the Surgeon General, in the USA, the number of overweight children has doubled and the number of overweight adolescents has trebled since 1980. This phenomenon has touched the developing world as well, for example, in Thailand the prevalence of obesity in children between 5 to 12 years old has rose from 12.2% to 15.6% in just two years.
The debilitating health problems associated with obesity include respiratory difficulty, chronic musculoskeletal problems, skin problems and infertility. The steep rise in Type 2 diabetes and hypertension is attributed to overweight. Approximately 90% of people suffering from Type 2 diabetes are overweight. Further, obesity increases the risk of the breast, colon, prostrate, endometrial, kidney and gall bladder cancer. According to the World Health Report 2002, approximately 58% of diabetes, 21% of ischemic heart disease and 8 to 42% of some cancers globally are attributable to a Body Mass Index above 21kg per square meter.
Obesity can be easily cured only if more attention is paid to the diet and lifestyle change. It is up to the global community to wake up to the dangers of this global problem before it becomes too late.
Via: Diet-Blog
