Obesity is on the rise worldwide and affects more than one billion people, or one in eight.

Health – 1 billion and 38 million. The number of people suffering from obesity in this world is about one in eight earthlings. This alarming figure is the result of a new study published this Friday, March 1 The Lancet. More specifically, 879 million adults and 159 million children and adolescents were obese in 2022.

The researchers compared these figures with those of the last 33 years to measure the evolution of this health problem worldwide. If adults, especially women, are concerned about minors, the statistics explode with a fourfold increase between 1990 and 2022.

Suffice it to say for researchers that obesity has become the most common form of malnutrition in many countries today. France is not immune to the problem, even if the problem is less severe there than in some regions.

Pacific Islands are particularly affected

More than 1,500 researchers and doctors from the Noncommunicable Disease Risk Factors Collaboration (NCD-RisC), which was supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Commission, worked on the research. They analyzed the weight and height measurements of more than 220 million people over the age of five.

The number of minors affected by obesity has increased from 31 million in 1990 to 159 million in 2022 (65 million girls and 94 million boys). For adults, the same observation: obesity rates more than doubled in women (8.8% to 18.5%) and nearly tripled in men (4.8% to 14.0%) between 1990 and 2022.

Among the countries with the highest prevalence of obesity are Tonga, American Samoa and the island countries of Polynesia and Micronesia. There, more than 60% of the adult population is obese. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the rankings vary between men and women. For men, African countries like Ethiopia (200^E And finally), Rwanda (198^E) or Eritrea (195^E) has a very low obesity rate. For women, Vietnam is 200^E and many Asian countries China (190^E) Cambodia (193^E), South Korea (194^E) or even Japan (198^E).

For its part, France is improving, moving up from 110^E at 181^E A place for women, and 79^E at 143^E A place for men. All information is available for adults at this link and for minors at this link.

Malnutrition, a problem that is declining

Obesity was not the only factor measured, the scientists also measured underweight (or malnutrition). This problem occurs when a person’s weight is below the normal weight, which is calculated based on gender, age and height. The countries with the highest combined rates of undernutrition and obesity in 2022 are island countries in the Pacific and the Caribbean, as well as countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

Just talking about underweight, this problem is decreasing in most countries. But in some poor places around the world it is severe and millions of people are still affected by malnutrition.

And this problem is increasing in developed countries. For boys, France fell from 155th to 106th and for girls from 108th to 60th.

Obesity, risk to children

This new study underscores one point: the importance of obesity prevention and management from early in life and into adulthood. ” It is very alarming that the obesity epidemic seen in adults in much of the world in the 1990s is mirrored in school-aged children and adolescents today. » worries Majid Ezzati, a professor at Imperial College London.

Added to this are many problems that aggravate the situation. ” Impact of issues like global warming, disruptions caused by the Kovid-19 pandemic (including inflation, editor’s note) And the war in Ukraine risks increasing the number of people suffering from obesity and underweight » opines Dr. Guha Pradeepa, co-author of the study.

In order to function, several levers are important: “Diet, physical activity and, if necessary, adequate care” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus lists But he believes that governments alone will not succeed. He urged the private sector, especially agri-food companies, to play their part to improve the situation.

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