New Delhi: No country is on track to meet the World Health Organization’s 2025 targets on obesity. The World Obesity Federation, which is a lead partner to global agencies on obesity, including WHO, has warned that by 2030, one in five women and one in seven men will be obese, equivalent to over one billion of the global population.
Low- and middle-income countries, including India, are likely to be more affected by the obesity epidemic, WOF has said. This is something public health specialists in the country have already warned about. Obesity is defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation in the body.
According to Dr Anoop Misra, chairman of Fortis C-Doc, controlling the obesity epidemic needs a concerted effort from policymakers and the masses. “Instead, we are seeing actions in the opposite directions — mushrooming of fast-food outlets, bombardment by advertisements about packaged food, non-availability of parks and exercise facilities, problems of outdoor exercises for women and the absence of food labelling, to name a few setbacks,” Misra said.
Misra added that the rise in obesity would cause a surge in non-communicable diseases, chiefly diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer. At a high-level United Nations meeting in 2011, governments had committed to take measures to prevent and treat non-communicable diseases. As part of this framework, obesity was identified alongside unhealthy diets as an important risk factor for NCDs.
Subsequently, a target to ‘halt the rise in obesity at 2010 levels by 2025’ was set, with a similar target also decided for childhood obesity. However, the WOF report says, the countries are catastrophically off-track on these targets. It says, “Indeed, countries are moving away from, rather than towards the targets, as levels of obesity continue to rise. This is of particular concern in low- and middle-income countries, where the greatest number of people with obesity now live and where health systems and healthcare professionals are severely underprepared to effectively manage and treat obesity and its consequences.”
Dr S K Sarin, vice-chancellor, Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, said obesity causes a chronic state of inflammation in the body. “We have seen during Covid-19 how obesity predisposes a person to complications. It is true for other diseases too, including heart and kidney diseases and cancer,” Sarin said, saying there was a need to raise awareness about the ill-effects of obesity and ways to prevent it.
One of the main causes of obesity is increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat and sugars. Obesity can also be hereditary. Dr Umesh Kapil, president, Epidemiological Foundation of India, said the consumption of high calorie diets has increased even as physical activity levels have declined, especially among children. “The government has taken initiatives such as Fit India movement and Eat Right campaign, but much more needs to be done to control the obesity epidemic,” Kapil said.
Johanna Ralston, CEO, WOF, said, “Political and public health leaders need to recognise the gravity of the obesity challenge and act. The numbers in our report are shocking, but what is even more shocking is how inadequate our response has been. Everyone has a basic right to prevention, treatment and management access. Now is the time for a joined-up, decisive and people-centred action to turn the tide on obesity.”
Low- and middle-income countries, including India, are likely to be more affected by the obesity epidemic, WOF has said. This is something public health specialists in the country have already warned about. Obesity is defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation in the body.
According to Dr Anoop Misra, chairman of Fortis C-Doc, controlling the obesity epidemic needs a concerted effort from policymakers and the masses. “Instead, we are seeing actions in the opposite directions — mushrooming of fast-food outlets, bombardment by advertisements about packaged food, non-availability of parks and exercise facilities, problems of outdoor exercises for women and the absence of food labelling, to name a few setbacks,” Misra said.
Misra added that the rise in obesity would cause a surge in non-communicable diseases, chiefly diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer. At a high-level United Nations meeting in 2011, governments had committed to take measures to prevent and treat non-communicable diseases. As part of this framework, obesity was identified alongside unhealthy diets as an important risk factor for NCDs.
Subsequently, a target to ‘halt the rise in obesity at 2010 levels by 2025’ was set, with a similar target also decided for childhood obesity. However, the WOF report says, the countries are catastrophically off-track on these targets. It says, “Indeed, countries are moving away from, rather than towards the targets, as levels of obesity continue to rise. This is of particular concern in low- and middle-income countries, where the greatest number of people with obesity now live and where health systems and healthcare professionals are severely underprepared to effectively manage and treat obesity and its consequences.”
Dr S K Sarin, vice-chancellor, Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, said obesity causes a chronic state of inflammation in the body. “We have seen during Covid-19 how obesity predisposes a person to complications. It is true for other diseases too, including heart and kidney diseases and cancer,” Sarin said, saying there was a need to raise awareness about the ill-effects of obesity and ways to prevent it.
One of the main causes of obesity is increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat and sugars. Obesity can also be hereditary. Dr Umesh Kapil, president, Epidemiological Foundation of India, said the consumption of high calorie diets has increased even as physical activity levels have declined, especially among children. “The government has taken initiatives such as Fit India movement and Eat Right campaign, but much more needs to be done to control the obesity epidemic,” Kapil said.
Johanna Ralston, CEO, WOF, said, “Political and public health leaders need to recognise the gravity of the obesity challenge and act. The numbers in our report are shocking, but what is even more shocking is how inadequate our response has been. Everyone has a basic right to prevention, treatment and management access. Now is the time for a joined-up, decisive and people-centred action to turn the tide on obesity.”