The scales have tipped, more people are obese than underweight

According to new research, the number of obese people living in the world is greater than the number of underweight people, and the number continues to rise.

An article on CBS News says the research is based on over 40 years of global, regional and national trends in body mass index (BMI) in adults who are 18 or older.  The data shows the count of obese people has jumped from 105 million in 1975 all the way to 641 million by 2014.

The research also noted the proportion of men who are obese has tripled in the same period, climbing from 3.2 percent of the total global population to 10.8 percent.  The increase in obese women is not quite as dramatic, but still doubled to reach almost 15 percent, from 6.4 percent in 1975.  The study authors predicted about 20 percent of the world’s population would be obese by the year 2025.

The good news, if there is any, is that the number of underweight individuals across the globe decreased by about one third among both men and women.

“Over the past 40 years, we have changed from a world in which underweight prevalence was more than double that of obesity, to one in which more people are obese than underweight,” said Majid Ezzati, senior study author and a professor at Imperial College London’s School of Public Health.  “If present trends continue, not only will the world not meet the obesity target of halting the rise in the prevalence of obesity at its 2010 level by 2025, but more women will be severely obese than underweight by 2025.”

The research team was quick to point out the problem of excessively low weight in the poorest nations of the world still remains, and people should not infer from the findings this problem is no longer serious.  Almost one fourth of the population in south Asia is underweight, as are more than one of every eight individuals in central and east Africa.

Being seriously underweight bring with it a number of health issues, especially among pregnant young women and their unborn children, who face a greater risk of death through malnutrition.

The authors stress the need to control the epidemic of obesity spreading around the globe, suggesting new policies that include smart food choices and improved health care and training.