Obesity rates surging globally

05-Mar-2025

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Rates of obesity and overweight are spiralling due to a "monumental societal failure" to tackle the problem, with more than half of adults and almost a third of children and young people set to be affected by 2050, according to a new study.

That represents more than 3.8 billion adults and 746 million children and adolescents, research published in The Lancet said.

"The unprecedented global epidemic of overweight and obesity is a profound tragedy and a monumental social failure," said lead author Professor Emmanuela Gakidou from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in the U.S.