Health industries buckling as world becomes fatter than ever

If you thought obesity was a growing problem for society, you’re not alone. New figures released today by the European Congress on Obesity have predicted almost a quarter of the world will be obese by 2045 if current trends are anything to go by.

The data, presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity in Vienna, Austria, found that 22 per cent of the world’s population will be obese within two decades. This figure is up from the 17 per cent of the population who were obese last year.

If that wasn’t enough, it is feared as many as one in eight people, or 12 per cent of the population, will have type 2 diabetes by 2045. At present, nine per cent of the world’s population are living with the condition. It is feared the increase will put pressure on health systems around the globe, which already spends large amounts on treating people living with diabetes and other obesity-related illnesses.

While there is no quick fix to the problem, the authors of the presentation said countries around the world need to act now to prevent new cases of both obesity and diabetes. They remain hopeful that diabetes rates will fall rather than increase, but said it was up to individual countries to set new targets to combat the issue.

In the USA, obesity levels are predicted to increase from 39 per cent in 2017, to 53 per cent in 2045. Diabetes rates would rise from 14 per cent to 18 per cent. This means obesity rates in America alone need to drop by 10 per cent in order to curb a continued rise.

It’s a similar scenario in the United Kingdom, where obesity rates are predicted to rise to 48 per cent in 2045, from the 32 per cent today. Diabetes rates are expected to rise by 28 per cent in the same period. Public Health England recently launched strict new guidelines for the nation when it comes to sugars and fats in foods, with big brands being forced to reduce sugar and fat content on popular foods to avoid a sugar tax.

According to the Grattan Institute, as many as one in four Australian adults are obese, costing taxpayers an estimated $5.3 billion each year.

Presenter Dr Alan Moses said it would be a challenge to reverse obesity rates, but it was important for countries to make it a priority. 

“These numbers underline the staggering challenge the world will face in the future in terms of numbers of people who are obese, or have type 2 diabetes, or both,” he said. “As well as the medical challenges these people will face, the costs to countries’ health systems will be enormous.”

He said developing global programs was a great way of reversing and preventing obesity.

“The global prevalence of obesity and diabetes is projected to increase dramatically unless prevention of obesity is significantly intensified,” Dr Moses continued. “Developing effective global programs to reduce obesity offer the best opportunity to slow or stabilise the unsustainable prevalence of diabetes. The first step must be the recognition of the challenge that obesity presents and the mobilisation of social service and disease prevention resources to slow the progression of these two conditions.”

Because rates are different around the world, there is no easy approach to fixing the problem.

“Each country is different based on unique genetic, social and environmental conditions which is why there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach that will work. Individual countries must work on the best strategy for them,” he said. “Despite the challenge all countries are facing with obesity and diabetes, the tide can be turned – but it will take aggressive and coordinated action to reduce obesity and individual cities should play a key role in confronting the issues around obesity, some of which are common to them all and others that are unique to each of them.”

What do you think? Are you concerned so many people around the world are becoming obese? What do you think is to blame?