- More than 2.1 billion people across the world are overweight or obeseÂ
- That equates to around 30% of the world’s population
- By 2030 experts predict half of all adults will be overweight or obese
- Obesity costs the global economy $2 trillion each year
- In the UK the burden is £47 billion a year, while in the U.S. it is £663 billion
- Experts studied 44 different interventions to help tackle obesity
- They looked at healthier school meals, calorie labelling, restrictions on advertising high-calorie food and drink, and public health campaigns
- Found no single intervention will work but combined strategy would
- Called on global Governments, healthcare systems, retailers and food and drink manufacturers to work together to tackle obesity head on Â
Lizzie Parry for MailOnline
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Obesity places as great a burden on the global economy as war and terrorism, costing $2 trillion each year.
A rising tide of obesity is ‘a critical global issue’ that requires a ‘comprehensive, international intervention strategy’, researchers have claimed.
More than 2.1 billion people across the world – around 30 per cent of the global population – are overweight or obese.
And the epidemic shows no signs of decline.
Experts predict if the current prevalence of obesity continues on its current trajectory, ‘almost half the world’s adult population will be overweight or obese by 2030?.
Obesity places as great a burden on the global economy as war and terrorism, costing $2 trillion each year, a new study by experts at the McKinsey Global Institue has foundÂ
Researchers estimated if current obesity rates continue, almost half the world’s adult population will be overweight or obese by 2030
A report by McKinseyCompany, which studied 44 different ways of combating obesity, found the global impact is the equivalent to smoking or armed violence, war and terrorism.
In the UK the burden on the economy is £47 billion a year – greater than the impact of armed violence, war and terrorism – while in the U.S. it is £663 billion.
The researchers have called on global governments, healthcare systems, retailers and food and drinks manufacturers to ‘coordinate’ their response to tackle the crisis head on.
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They said while the severity of the global obesity crisis is ‘beyond doubt’, there are interventions that are very effective.
The majority of the weight-loss programmes and policies studied ‘are cost-effective at a societal level and could potentially have a high impact’.
Among the interventions researchers studied were subsidised school meals for all, calorie and nutrition labelling, restrictions on advertising high-calorie food and drinks, and public health campaigns.
They found no single intervention alone was likely to have a significant overall impact on obesity rates.
Rather, ‘a systemic, sustained portfolio of initiatives, delivered at scale, is needed to reverse the health burden’. Â
While better education and personal responsibility were identified as ‘critical elements’ of a programme to tackle obesity, they were not sufficient on their own.
Researchers said policies and steps that rely less on the conscious choices of individuals, and more on changes to their environment are needed.
They include reducing default portion sizes, changing marketing practised and restructuring urban and education environments to facilitate more physical activity.Â
The report said: ‘Obesity is a major global economic problem caused by a multitude of factors.Â
‘Today obesity is jostling with armed conflict and smoking in terms of having the greatest human-generated global economic impact.
‘The global economic impact of obesity is increasing. The evidence suggests that the economic and societal impact of obesity is deep and lasting.’
In the UK the burden on the economy is £47 billion a year – greater than the impact of armed violence, war and terrorism. In the U.S. the cost to the economy is $663 billion a year
In the UK, obesity has the second largest impact after smoking, while in the U.S. obesity came second to armed violence, war and terrorism, researchers found
They found obesity has the same impact on the global economy as armed conflict and terrorism, and just ‘a shade less than smoking’.
‘In most developed economies, obesity ranks among the top three human-generated economic burdens.’
In the UK, obesity has the second largest impact after smoking, generating an economic loss of more than £44 billion a year in 2012.
The report found the economic impact from smoking in the UK was £57 billion in 2012, while the country suffered a £43 billion annual loss from armed violence, war and terrorism.Â
In the U.S. armed conflict, especially spending on the military, has the highest impact, with obesity second.
Obesity cost the U.S. economy $663billion a year in 2012.
They predict a series of 44 interventions could bring 20 per cent of overweight or obese people in the UK back to normal weight within five to 10 years. Â
It would save around £16 billion a year in UK, including an annual saving of about £766 million in the NHS, according to the study.Â
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