WHO warns of the rising threat of heart disease and stroke as overweight and obesity rapidly increase
A recent report from the WHO show that the US is not the only nation battling obesity.
According to WHO estimates, more than 75% of women over the age of 30 are now overweight in countries as diverse as Barbados, Egypt, Malta, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, and the United States. Estimates are similar for men, with over 75% now overweight in, for example, Argentina, Germany, Greece, Kuwait, New Zealand, Samoa, and the United Kingdom. Notably, the Western Pacific islands of Nauru and Tonga have the highest global prevalence of overweight where nine out of every 10 adults are overweight.
“The sheer magnitude of the overweight and obesity problem is staggering,” said Dr Catherine Le-Galès Camus, WHO Assistant Director-General of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health. “The rapid increase of overweight and obesity in many low and middle income countries foretells an overwhelming chronic disease burden in these countries in the next 10 to 20 years, if action is not taken now.”
This is one more indicator that public health agencies, while remaining alert for emerging infectious diseases need to pay mroe attention to the prevention of chronic diseases.