According to current estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) and an international team of researchers, over a billion people worldwide are obese, a condition associated with an increased risk of several serious health conditions, Reuters reported.
Obesity is now more common than underweight in most countries, including many poor and middle-income countries that have historically suffered from malnutrition.
Majid Ezzati, an Imperial College London professor and senior author, claimed that “a staggering number of people are living with obesity.”
The figures, which are based on data from over 220 million people in over 190 countries, are considered to be some of the most reliable independent estimates.
According to Ezzati, obesity rates are rapidly increasing in some countries while plateauing in many more prosperous ones.
Despite this underweight is becoming less frequent worldwide, it is still a major problem in many nations, meaning that more and more nations are dealing with the “double burden” of malnutrition.
