As Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign against obesity approaches its one-year anniversary, I looked at the World Health Organization (WHO)’s data about obesity on a global scale.
The WHO’s latest projections suggest that globally (as of 2008): approximately 1.5 billion adults (above the age of 20) were overweight; of these, more than 200 million men and nearly 300 million women were obese.
WHO also forecasts that by 2015, approximately 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and more than 700 million will be obese. Nearly 43 million children under the age of 5 years were overweight globally in 2010.
“Overweight and obesity are major risk factors for a number of chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer,” WHO stated.
Based on its definition of how body mass index (BMI) is related to being overweight and/or obese – last year WHO unveiled a list of countries with the highest percentage of its population who are overweight.
Here is a list of countries along with the percentage of the population that is overweight by WHO’s standards).
The tiny island nation of Samoa off the Pacific is catapulting itself 24 hours into the future on December.www.haveimpact.orgParents are more likely to buy less healthy food if sports stars promote it, claims a new study.www.whitedragonmartialarts.comObesity campaign a waste of resources
ReutersGermany may be the wealthiest, most powerful nation in Europe, but the peoples’ love of beer and fatty foods (as well as lack of physical activity) have increased obesity levels. Things have gotten so bad in Deutschland that a study by Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln indicated that some of the country’s industries – including security and emergency services – have an acute labor shortage because not enough people are healthy and fit enough to perform those jobs. The German newspaper Bild has estimated that the annual cost of treating obesity-related illnesses is about $21.7 billion.www.glassbeermug.netBosnia-Herzegovinawww.happypeopleproductions.coWhile the problem is far worse among the indigenous Maori people (who, like, other Pacific Islanders, have seen their traditional eating customs vanish in favor of Western fast=food) as well as Asian immigrants, obesity is rising among white New Zealanders as well. In 2006, the government sought to reduce obesity among children by cutting high-fat foods and high-sugar drinks from school cafeterias, and limiting junk-food advertising on television.ReutersWhile Israel is part of a Mediterranean culture that favors light salads and healthy olive oil, obesity has tripled here over the past three decades. As in much of the western world, Israelis are increasingly enamored with fast food and a sedentary lifestyle. Old-style fresh food markets have been replaced by huge supermarkets selling processed foods, while junk-food vending machines are in virtually every school. For a country that places its security at a premium (and requires mandatory military service for most able-bodied young men and women), obesity could have a disastrous impact.ReutersSimilar to Bosnia, where eating cheaper processed fast foods has become the norm in place of healthier traditional diets. Cardiovascular disease has become the leading cause of death among Croats. Citing that the average Croat eats 2,700 calories per day (or 700 more than the recommended daily value), last year the government’s Ministry of Health decided to label healthy foods on store shelves and eliminate "junk food" from vending machines by 2012.ReutersIndicating that the distressing trend of size zero has gone global, a new research has found how stigmatization of fat and obesity has spread from western countries across more accepting cultures.Creativecommons
