The number of people dying from obesity-related diseases such as heart disease and stroke has risen by 50 percent in the past two decades, a major global report has found.
In the year 2000, a high BMI was the eleventh most important risk factor for shortening a person’s life. According to the Global Burden of Disease study published in the prestigious journal Lancet, it had risen to sixth place in 2021.
The conditions that most commonly affected people who died of obesity included high blood pressure, heart problems, kidney dysfunction and type 2 diabetes.
However, the scientists found that air pollution is still the largest contributor to the global burden of disease in 2021, next to obesity.
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Places with the highest prevalence of obesity are Tonga, American Samoa, Polynesia and Micronesia, the Cook Islands and Niue. It is believed that the availability of unhealthy food versus healthy food is responsible for the rising obesity rates in many island nations
Dr. Michael Brauer, associate professor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), said the risk factors are increasingly common in young people but are also “indicative of an aging population that is more likely to develop these conditions over time.” ‘
The study, published in The Lancetlooked at data from 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2021.
The loss of years of healthy life and premature death were also due to air pollution from particulate matter, smoking, low birth weight and premature birth.
Of the risk factors the researchers looked at, they found that air pollution was the biggest contributor to the global burden of disease in 2021, followed by high blood pressure and smoking.
For younger populations – those aged 14 and under – the biggest risks for poor health and early mortality were low birth weight, premature birth and unsafe water, sanitation and handwashing.
Meanwhile, for older groups, high blood pressure, high BMI, high blood sugar levels and high LDL cholesterol levels had greater effects on shortening lifespan.
Between 2000 and 2021, the number of years lost due to poor health and premature death due to high BMI increased by 16 percent worldwide.
This is due to “increasing risk exposure,” the researchers said, meaning there is a greater chance of someone having a higher BMI, as well as the aging of the population.
The rise of ultra-processed foods and a more sedentary lifestyle are likely to blame.
Individuals’ exposure to the risk of high BMI increased by 1.8 percent per year between 2000 and 2021.
The researchers also said that global life expectancy will likely continue to increase between 2022 and 2050, but at a slower pace.
There was a significant reduction in the burden of disease due to risk factors associated with child and maternal malnutrition, such as child growth failure, with the number of years lost due to poor health and premature death between 2000 and 2021 has decreased by 72 percent.
The percentage decreased by 33 percent for low birth weight and premature birth.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Turkmenistan are among the countries with the highest percentage of deaths due to obesity
The obesity rate among American adults has increased from 21.2 percent in 1990 to 43.8 percent in 2022 for women and 16.9 percent to 41.6 percent for men
Between 1990 and 2022, the rate nearly doubled among American girls from 11.6 percent to 19.4 percent and among boys from 11.5 percent to 21.7 percent
The authors predict that the leading reasons for poor health and premature death by 2050 will be heart disease, stroke, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
In 2022, the leading causes are heart disease, neonatal disorders, stroke and lower respiratory tract infections.
Previous global data from 2019 showed that 13 percent of global deaths were due to obesity.
The country with the highest rate was Jordan, with almost a quarter (24 percent) of deaths due to obesity.
About 68 percent of Americans are overweight (BMI between 25 and 30) or obese (BMI over 30).
By comparison, it was estimated that around 64 percent of adults aged 18 and over in England were overweight or obese.
Although America is often considered the world’s most obese country, its obese population of 139 million pales in comparison to China’s 200 million or India’s 350 million.
The obesity rate among American adults has increased from 21.2 percent in 1990 to 43.8 percent in 2022 for women and from 16.9 percent to 41.6 percent for men.
In 2000, America’s obesity rate was 31 percent.
Another study published this month in The Lancet found obesity is a bigger health threat than hunger – with a billion people worldwide now overweight.
About 159 million children and adolescents and 879 million adults have a weight so high in relation to their height that it classifies them as obese, equivalent to about one in eight people.
Meanwhile, the rate of underweight among children and adolescents fell and halved among adults worldwide.