HSE experts predict that 42% of the world's population will be obese by 2025
By 2025, 42% of the world's population will be overweight, researchers from the Higher School of Economics have warned. The situation was aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as places for sports and active recreation were closed for several years.Every fifth adult in the world will be obese by 2025: 18% of men and more than 21% of women, according to a study by the Institute for Statistical Research and Knowledge Economics and experts from the UNESCO Chair at the National Research University Higher School of Economics and the NCMU "Center for Interdisciplinary Studies of Human Potential". Among children aged 5 to 19, 205 million people will be obese. Overall, 42% of the world's population is projected to be overweight by 2025.
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the situation by closing parks, gyms, swimming pools and other facilities that help people follow healthy lifestyle habits, the researchers said. Increased activity could save up to 5 million people each year: moderate-intensity exercise of just 2.5 hours a week would reduce mortality by about 10%.
Another reason for the growth of obesity is unbalanced nutrition of the population, the caloric content of which significantly exceeds the energy requirements of the body. The diet of modern man includes more and more deeply processed and industrially produced foods, animal and saturated fats, free sugars and salt to the detriment of lactic acid bacteria and fiber. Each year, excess salt consumption (more than 5 g per day) causes 1.7 million deaths and industrial-produced trans fatty acids cause 500,000 deaths. In addition, the average inhabitant of the Earth consumes 59 g of sugar daily (with the WHO norm of no more than 25 g per day). If the daily norm of sugar is exceeded by 25%, the probability of dying as a result of cardiovascular diseases doubles, and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases.
The level of obesity in Russia is comparable to the world, the scientists write. In 1993, 8.3% of men and 23.2% of women suffered from obesity, in 2017 - already 28.1 and 32.1% respectively, in 2021 - 30.1 and 36.7%.