The world is fat: the overweight now outnumber the undernourished
23 Dec
“Worldwide, more than 1.3 billion people are overweight, whereas only 800 million are underweight – and these statistics are diverging rapidly.” – Barry M Popkin
For most developing nations, obesity has emerged as a more serious health threat than hunger. Although under-nutrition and famine remain significant problems in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, even desperately poor countries such as Nigeria and Uganda are wrestling with the dilemma of obesity.
Globalisation over the past 20 years has contributed to the increased consumption of sweetened beverages, vegetable oils and animal-source foods by poor people in developing countries, as they also adopt sedentary Western lifestyles. This combination of lifestyle and dietary changes is paving way for a global public health catastrophe.
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