Two in three adults over the age of 25 could be obese or overweight by 2050, experts have warned.
Access to healthy and affordable food, green spaces and a shift towards desk jobs and longer working hours have contributed to increasing levels of obesity, according to the newly released World Heart Report.
The report, compiled by the World Heart Foundation, also highlights that “game changing” medical interventions such as weight loss jabs like Wegovy, are showing positive steps.
Globally the number of adults living with obesity has quadrupled since 1990 from 194 million to 878 million in 2022 – a figure that is only expected to rise.
Obesity is known to significantly increase the risk of several health conditions including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and some cancers, according to the NHS.
It causes 3.7 million deaths per year and is a leading driver of deaths from cardiovascular disease, the report by the World Heart Federation warns.
High BMI accounts for nearly 10 per cent of all cardiovascular deaths worldwide, doubling to 1.9 million in three decades.
Children with a high BMI are 40 per cent more likely than those with low BMI to suffer with cardiovascular disease in midlife.
The economic impact of obesity is also rising. Costs to the global economy from obesity-related healthcare needs, productivity losses and death are estimated to amount to 2.2 per cent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
That’s just under $2 trillion per year and it could reach 3 per cent annually by 2060.
To tackle the problem some countries including the UK, Japan and Rwanda have taken steps to tackle obesity by limiting the density of fast-food outlets, particularly near schools and areas with childhood obesity and deprivation.
The report also highlights that “game changing” medical interventions such as weight loss jabs like Wegovy, are showing positive steps.
“To address the growing implications of the obesity crisis, we urge action and targeted investment by governments around the world. Health systems must be strengthened to ensure broader access to, and affordability of, medical care for obesity and cardiovascular disease,” said Mariachiara Di Cesare, Professor of Population Studies and Global Health, and Director of the Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing at the University of Essex, and one of the report authors.
The report also suggests some health professionals hold negative biases about obesity and to view patients as “non-compliant with health advice”.
It explains this can deter people with obesity from seeking medical care, including prevention and screening, putting their overall health at risk.
Authors also highlight that the perception that people living with obesity are “lazy, gluttonous, and lacking in self-discipline” has long lasting psychological and physical consequences.
Children and young adults are especially vulnerable to bullying and discrimination based on their weight, and obesity is now the leading cause of such bullying in schools, affecting children’s education and their mental health.
“Longstanding weight stigma and discrimination have hindered efforts to tackle obesity and contributed to the rise of CVDs, so it is urgent to address both,” Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and one of the report authors said.
“Any policy to tackle obesity must address health disparities and support underserved populations who face greater barriers to healthy living and obesity therapies, while taking care to not further entrench the stigmatisation of obesity,” he added.
