The world is growing ever fatter.
In 1975, the underweight outnumbered the obese more than 2 to 1 around the globe. But the tables had turned by 2014, according to a new study of obesity rates in much of the world: There are now more obese people than underweight people on Earth.
“The number of people across the globe whose weight poses a serious threat to their health is greater than ever before,” Majid Ezzati, a professor at Imperial College London and lead author of the study, said in a statement. The study was published in the Lancet.
For men, the obesity rate more than tripled over the past four decades, rising from just over 3 percent to nearly 11 percent. Among women, the rate more than doubled, rising from more than 6 percent to nearly 15 percent.
Ezzati collaborated with more than 700 public health experts around the world to identify and collect obesity estimates for most countries from 1975 to 2014. He directs that network of experts, known as the Non-Communicable Diseases Risk Factor Collaboration, or NCD-RisC. The estimates are based on body-mass index values.
If the global trend continues, Ezzati and his colleagues estimate, nearly 18 percent of men and 21 percent of women will be obese by 2025.
Here’s what the four-decade spread of obesity looks like for men and women, according to images of the interactive maps he and his collaborators created:
Roughly one in three obese men call either China or the United States home, while those two countries are home to about one in four obese women.
But few countries were immune to the four-decade rise in obesity. As the charts below show, nearly every region of the world saw rates increase for both sexes.
To Ezzati and his colleagues, the implications of their research are clear.
“Although it is reassuring that the number of underweight individuals has decreased over the last four decades, global obesity has reached crisis point,” he said. “We hope these findings create an imperative to shift responsibility from the individual to Governments, and to develop and implement policies to address obesity.”
Source: The Washington Post
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Ideas to consider in your response:
- What is the connection between the number of people being underweight decreasing and the number of people who are overweight increasing?
- What do the maps and charts in this piece show us?
- Who do you think is responsible for "fixing" our country's obesity epidemic? The government or individuals?
If you look closely in the chart you see that their is more people that are gaining weight than losing it. From 1975 as the years went by the percents go up and up from different states and countries.This is starting to become something very serious and people just don't see that. In the chart it specifically says male and female and states and countries but it wont say ages and I strongly feel as if age is very important when it comes to this because some parents really don't care what they feed their kids or watch what they eat.Its obvious that when you stay admitted in the hospital or when you eat school food it carries a fair diet it's sad to see young kids being obesity. I feel like the mayor is responsible for this because instead of saying I'm going to band this and this he should show people exactly why he wants to banned things because people aren't seeing the outside world. It's okay to eat junk here and there but just jog and do active things so you could stay in shape simple things like that can work instead of making doctors come up with these expensive new things when you can literally take care of something like this on your own.
ReplyDeleteIn my own opinion I feel like people who eat junk food and never healthy food are going to gain weight.But I also feel like it is true that when kids eat too much food that is not good for them their going to grow up eating not healthy.To me if people eat a lot of not healthy food then their never going to feel what healthy eating feel like.
DeletePeople control what they want to eat. How i see things is like people just want to eat the unhealthy foods they eat do to the taste of the food and usually the best tasting foods out there are junk foods. I am pretty sure anybody would prefer a box of pizza from domino's then a bowl of spinach casserole for dinner. Don't get me wrong some diet foods taste very good, but when you got like 67 fast food restaurants and corner stores around you, you wouldn't want to eat anything for the rest of your life but those things around you. Another thing is do to the fact of laziness. Some people grew up eating these junk foods that they eat and can't let go of them, so to make a effort to change their foods is useless to those people.
DeleteI think that obesity is a really bad thing and we should try and do something about it. I like that New York City banned the cup that is bigger than large. I was looking at the animated map of men and woman obesity and saw that in the middle of africa and the lower part of asia the obesity rate changed only a little from 1975 to 2014 and I was wondering if any body can help me to find a answer? And what ever asia and africa are doing we should start doing the same if not we might just end up looking like the people in the movie Wall-E. -Chris
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ReplyDeleteThe connection between the number of people being underweight decreasing and the number of people who are overweight increasing is that underweight is too skinny also overweight is too fat. But skinny is better because you can run super fast. The maps and charts in this piece show us is that Central and Eastern Europe have the most male and female that are overweight. I think it should be the both because the article said, "To Ezzati and his colleagues, the implications of their research are clear. “Although it is reassuring that the number of underweight individuals has decreased over the last four decades, global obesity has reached crisis point,” he said. “We hope these findings create an imperative to shift responsibility from the individual to Governments, and to develop and implement policies to address obesity.” It's both sides because people take what they like to be and it's also the governments because they don't have responsible.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the who is responsible for this issue is the government. i feel that If all of the healthy food where not so expensive maybe more people would adapt to trying to eat. Also not a lot of people really show care to the problem with people self. Because normally when a person is fat they get depressed and eat some more.
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ReplyDeleteAs you can see in the chart throughout the years between 1975 to 2014,the number of people are getting obese in every kinds of race. Females gain more weight throughout the years than the males. In the map you can see where the places when people from males and females gain weight in different racists.
ReplyDeleteThe connection of underweight and overweight people is that over time there are countries that are having a lot of people becoming overweight. For example like the chart is shows the change over time in 1975 compared to 2014. The chart shows the percentage of the world between 1975 and 2014. The government think that they serve too much food for the past year like opening more restaurant people eating for depression.
ReplyDeleteThe connection of underweight and overweight people is that over time there are countries that are having a lot of people becoming overweight. For example like the chart is shows the change over time in 1975 compared to 2014. The chart shows the percentage of the world between 1975 and 2014. The government think that they serve too much food for the past year like opening more restaurant people eating for depression.
ReplyDeleteI think that is not the governments fault for our countrys obesidy rate because its the people fault for not eating and drinking well. People should be careful of what they eat or drink. But some people don't like eating healthy since it doent taste as good as fast food. If and over weight person haded to eat a salad or a burger from mc donalds they will choose a burger from mcdonalds. >I know how they feel because if I had to choose btween them I will choose the burger since it tastes better but if aI get a little overweigh I will eat salad everyday and exercise.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post. I’ve been thinking about writing a very comparable post over the last couple of weeks, I’ll probably keep it short and sweet and link to this instead if thats cool. Thanks. Click Here
ReplyDelete