Latest news with #JessicaKerr
Saba Yemen
05-03-2025
- Health
- Saba Yemen
Study: 3 in 5 adults will be classified as overweight by 2050
London - Saba: A new study has indicated that the proportion of the world's population who are overweight or obese has doubled since 1990, with future projections until 2050 indicating a further increase, reaching about 60% among people over the age of 25 and more than 30% among children and young people. As part of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the analysis modeled overweight and obesity rates from 1990 to 2021. The forecast until 2050 assumes that current trends will continue. 'If we act now, it is still possible to prevent a complete shift to global obesity in children and adolescents,' says Jessica Kerr, an obesity epidemiologist at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Australia, in the studies, which have been republished in the British medical journal The Lancet. 'This is not the time to continue with business as usual.' Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
3 Out of 5 Adults Will Be Classified Overweight by 2050, Study Finds
A comprehensive new report estimates that the proportion of the global population who are overweight or obese has doubled since 1990. Forward projections to 2050 estimate a further increase, to around 60 percent of those over 25 and more than 30 percent of children and young adults. As part of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021, which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the analysis modeled overweight and obesity rates from 1990 to 2021. The forecast to 2050 assumes the current trends hold. "If we act now, preventing a complete transition to global obesity for children and adolescents is still possible," says Jessica Kerr, obesity epidemiologist at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Australia. "This is no time for business as usual." Two reports were produced: one focused on adults aged 25 or over in 204 countries, using data from 1,350 unique sources. The second studied children and adults under 25, using 1,321 sources from 180 countries. Body mass index (BMI) was the main metric used for the adults, with overweight defined as a BMI of 25 kg/m2 to under 30 kg/m2, and obesity defined as anything higher than that. Alarmingly, the study found that the rates of overweight and obesity increased in all nations, ages, and sexes since the 1990s. The number of adults with overweight or obesity worldwide grew from 731 million in 1990 to 2.11 billion in 2021. Both sexes saw proportional obesity rates more than double in that time – from 5.8 to 14.8 percent of adult men, and 10.2 to 20.8 percent of adult women. China had the largest population of adults with overweight or obesity in 2021 with 402 million, followed by India at 180 million and the US at 172 million. However, the fastest-growing prevalence was seen in north Africa and the Middle East, where obesity rates more than doubled in women and tripled in men between 1990 and 2021. Among children and young adults, obesity prevalence tripled worldwide, growing to 93.1 million individuals aged 5 to 14 years, and 80.6 million aged 15 to 24. The highest increases were seen in southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania. "The drivers of the obesity epidemic are complex. A country's increasing obesity rates often overlap with their increasing economic development," the authors write in The Conversation. "Economic development encourages high growth and consumption. As local farming and food supply systems become overtaken by 'big food' companies, populations transition to high-calorie diets. "Meanwhile, our environments become more 'obesogenic,' or obesity-promoting, and it becomes very difficult to maintain healthy lifestyles because we are surrounded by very convenient, affordable, and addictive high-calorie foods." If these trends continue unchecked, the report predicts that some 3.8 billion adults globally will be overweight or obese by 2050 – around 60 percent of the projected population of that time. Obesity alone will affect around 30 percent of the adult population by then, with the highest regional levels expected in the United Arab Emirates, with over 80 percent of men and 87 percent of women in Tonga and Egypt. Meanwhile, 746 million children, adolescents, and young adults up to the age of 24, or 31 percent of their population, will be affected by obesity by 2050. The data show that later generations are gaining weight faster than their ancestors – in high-income regions, just 7.1 percent of men and 8.4 percent of women born in 1960 were obese by age 25. For those born in 1990, that rose to 16.3 percent for men and 18.9 percent for women, and it's expected that by the time the 2015 cohort turns 25, obesity will affect 25.1 percent of its men and 28.4 percent of its women. This drastic increase in overweight and obesity will also increase rates of associated diseases, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some types of cancers. Fortunately, the authors state that there is still time to act, although it must be done quickly. Governments around the world should implement five-year action plans that involve nutrition education, better transportation and 'walkability' infrastructure, and regulation of ultra-processed foods. "Many countries only have a short window of opportunity to stop much greater numbers shifting from overweight to obesity," says Kerr. "Ultimately, as global obesity rates continue to soar, much stronger political commitment is needed to transform diets within sustainable global food systems and to support comprehensive strategies that improve people's nutrition, physical activity, and living environments, whether it's too much processed food or not enough parks." There are of course some caveats to the claims. BMI is far from a perfect measure of health, since it doesn't account for muscle mass or natural variations in different ethnic groups. The studies also rely on self-reported data, which can contain biases. And the projections don't account for new technologies such as the rise of semaglutide drugs for weight loss. Regardless, action plans for better public health can only be a good thing. The studies were published in The Lancet. Australian Man Whose Blood Donations Saved Millions Dies Age 88 Brain Autopsies Reveal a Potential Culprit Behind Alzheimer's Giving Up Already? Here Are 5 Tips For Staying on Top of Your Goals.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Majority of adults worldwide expected to be overweight, obese by 2050: Study
As the warmer seasons approach, you may already be tempted to get into shape if you happened to let yourself go a little during this seemingly endless winter. That's a good thing, though a new study might motivate you to go even harder at improving your health and fitness after it suggested that about 60% of adults and nearly a third of young people around the world will be overweight or obese in 25 years. 'The unprecedented global epidemic of overweight and obesity is a profound tragedy and a monumental societal failure,' lead author Emmanuela Gakidou of the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) said in a statement. CHARLEBOIS: The world is getting fatter – and so is Canada 51% of world population may be overweight or obese by 2035 Obesity rates nearly double in 16 U.S. states over just two years The study, published Monday in the medical journal The Lancet, noted that the number of overweight or obese people worldwide rose from 929 million in 1990 to 2.6 billion in 2021. Without serious change, researchers predict that figure will grow to 3.8 billion by 2050. They also predicted a 121% increase in obesity among children and adolescents around the world, with a third of all obese young people living in North Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean by 2050. According to the study, we are gaining weight faster than previous generations — and obesity is occurring earlier. But study co-author Jessica Kerr, from Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Australia, said it's not too late to overcome the weighty prognosis. 'Ultimately, as global obesity rates continue to soar, much stronger political commitment is needed to transform diets within sustainable global food systems,' Kerr said, adding there also needs to be strategies that 'improve people's nutrition, physical activity and living environments, whether it's too much processed food or not enough parks.' The research — funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — is based on figures from the IMHE's Global Burden of Disease study, and is said to be 'most comprehensive global analysis to date.' The definition of overweight or obese is based on body mass index, a simple calculation where you divide your weight in kilograms by your height in metres squared (though BMI calculators are widely available). According to the study, more than half the world's overweight or obese adults live in just eight countries — China, India, the United States, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Indonesia and Egypt.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
A third of the world's children will be obese or overweight in the next 25 years
Obesity rates are forecast to skyrocket within the next quarter of a century, with a third of the world's children and adolescents expected to be overweight or obese by 2050. Significant increases are predicted within just the next five years, researchers at the Australia-based Murdoch Children's Research Institute said Monday. 'This giant burden will not only cost the health system and the economy billions, but complications associated with a high Body Mass Index (BMI), including diabetes, cancer, heart problems, breathing issues, fertility problems, and mental health challenges, will negatively impact our children and adolescents now and into the future, even holding the potential to impact our grandchildren's risk of obesity and quality of life for decades to come,' Dr. Jessica Kerr said in a statement. Kerr is one of the lead authors of the international analysis, which was published in the journal The Lancet. The predictions come as the global obesity rate for individuals between the ages of five an 24 has already tripled from 1990 to 2021. As of that year, 493 million children and adolescents were overweight or obese, the institute pointed out. Approximately one in five U.S. children and adolescents have obesity, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. Children with obesity are at a higher risk for asthma, sleep apnea, bone and joint problems, type 2 diabetes, and risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure. Children with obesity are also more likely to be obese as adults. Adults with obesity have a higher risk of stroke, many types of cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, premature death, and mental illness. This comes as more than half of adults are expected to face the same predicament during that timeframe, Kerr and her co-authors noted. They said that the number of Nigerians who are obese or overweight are projected to more than triple from 2021 to 2050. If immediate action plans are not developed, she said that the future is bleak for our youth. Older girls between the ages of 15 and 24 are a priority for intervention going forward. 'Despite these findings indicating monumental societal failures and a lack of coordinated global action across the entire developmental window to reduce obesity, our results provide optimism that this trajectory can be avoided if action comes before 2030,' she said.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
A third of the world's children will be obese or overweight in the next 25 years
Obesity rates are forecast to skyrocket within the next quarter of a century, with a third of the world's children and adolescents expected to be overweight or obese by 2050. Significant increases are predicted within just the next five years, researchers at the Australia-based Murdoch Children's Research Institute said Monday. 'This giant burden will not only cost the health system and the economy billions, but complications associated with a high Body Mass Index (BMI), including diabetes, cancer, heart problems, breathing issues, fertility problems, and mental health challenges, will negatively impact our children and adolescents now and into the future, even holding the potential to impact our grandchildren's risk of obesity and quality of life for decades to come,' Dr. Jessica Kerr said in a statement. Kerr is one of the lead authors of the international analysis, which was published in the journal The Lancet. The predictions come as the global obesity rate for individuals between the ages of five an 24 has already tripled from 1990 to 2021. As of that year, 493 million children and adolescents were overweight or obese, the institute pointed out. Approximately one in five U.S. children and adolescents have obesity, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. Children with obesity are at a higher risk for asthma, sleep apnea, bone and joint problems, type 2 diabetes, and risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure. Children with obesity are also more likely to be obese as adults. Adults with obesity have a higher risk of stroke, many types of cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, premature death, and mental illness. This comes as more than half of adults are expected to face the same predicament during that timeframe, Kerr and her co-authors noted. They said that the number of Nigerians who are obese or overweight are projected to more than triple from 2021 to 2050. If immediate action plans are not developed, she said that the future is bleak for our youth. Older girls between the ages of 15 and 24 are a priority for intervention going forward. 'Despite these findings indicating monumental societal failures and a lack of coordinated global action across the entire developmental window to reduce obesity, our results provide optimism that this trajectory can be avoided if action comes before 2030,' she said.
