The World Health Organization reports that in 2022, more than 1 billion people worldwide were obese. Since 1990, the number of people suffering from obesity has increased considerably.

Data harvest by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) show that the number of people worldwide facing the problem of obesity has increased significantly in recent years.

The study compared the number of obese people in 2022 and in 1990. The percentage of people struggling with obesity increased among adults and children as well as women and men.

In 1990, only 1.7 percent of girls worldwide were obese. In 2022 it was already 6.9%. A sharp increase was also seen among boys – by 2.1 percent. in 1990 to 9.3 percent in 2022. The number of obese adults has also increased significantly. In 1990, the obesity rate among women was 8.8%, in 2022 it was 18.5%. Among men, the percentage increased from 4.8%. up to 14 percent

By 2022, as many as 879 million adults and 159 million children worldwide were estimated to suffer from obesity. The worst situation is in American Samoa and the countries of Tonga and Nauru, where around 60 percent adults are obese. In the United States, the number of obese adults exceeded 40% in 2022 (43.8% among women, 41.6% among men).

At the same time, the number of underweight people worldwide has declined significantly over the same period. Among girls, the decline was by a fifth, among boys by a third, and among adults, the number of undernourished people was reduced by half.

Regarding adult underweight, the situation is most severe in Eritrea and East Timor for women, and in Eritrea and Ethiopia for men. In these countries, more than 20 percent of adults struggle with malnutrition. The most malnourished children are found in India, Niger and Sri Lanka (more than 15%).

– It is very worrying to note that the epidemic of obesity that was affecting adults in most countries around the world in 1990 is now also affecting children and adolescents. At the same time, hundreds of millions of people around the world remain undernourished, mainly in the world’s poorest regions. To effectively combat both forms of eating disorders, it is necessary to improve access to healthy and nutritious food – commented one of the authors of the study, Prof. Majid Ezzati from Imperial College London.

– This study shows how important it is to prevent obesity in the first years of life, through diet, physical activity and appropriate care – said the WHO Director-General. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyésus.

– Getting back on track to meet global obesity reduction targets will require the work of governments and communities, supported by evidence-based policies from WHO and national public health agencies. Importantly, this also requires the cooperation of the private sector, which must be responsible for the health impact of its products, he added.