A recently released report from the European Congress on Obesity in Vienna warns that in 27 years — 2045 — 22 percent of the world’s population is expected to be overweight. That is an increase from 14 percent last year.
A report from AFP noted that one in eight people, up from one in 11, will have type 2 diabetes — a form of the disease that generally occurs in adulthood — with obesity contributing to its development.
“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,” AFP quoted researcher Alan Moses of the Danish healthcare company Novo Nordisk’s research and development department.
AFP reported that the researchers projected obesity in the United States will increase from 39 percent of the population in 2017 to 55 percent in 2045, and diabetes from 14 percent to 18 percent.
In Britain, the proportion will increase from 32 percent to 48 percent, with the incidence of diabetes rising from 10.2 percent to 12.6 percent.
These countries health systems are already spending “huge sums just to treat diabetes,” the researchers said in a statement.
A global survey in 2016 said the ratio of obese adults had more than doubled in the 40 years since 1975.
Of about five billion adults alive in 2014, 641 million were obese, it found.
This writer, who has type 2 diabetes, has found that a major challenge to weight control is the oversized portions most “casual dining” restaurants serve. I have contacted the upper management at several of these restaurant chains and complained about their gigantic portions, asking them: “Haven’t you heard about the obesity epidemic?”
Perhaps, if reports such as this latest one receive more attention, the public will seek healthier alternatives and restaurants will cater to their wishes.
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