A Strategic View of Obesity

Although the US has long been considered the country with the world’s greatest obesity problem, recent publications report on the globalization of this trend. According to BBC News, “between half and two-thirds of men and women in 63 countries across five continents – not including the US – were overweight or obese in 2006”. In the UK, 60% of men and 40% of women are expected to be obese by 2050. South and East Asia appears to be the only region with significantly less instances of overweight and BMI abnormality.

“Tackling Obesities: Future Choices” was issued by the UK Government Office for Science in an attempt to lay the basis for a strategic take on this problem. Obesity has taken many years to reach the alarming point it stands at today, and it will take a similarly long amount of time to adequately respond to this crisis. Although the report focuses on the UK, its findings have global relevance. The sources of obesity are certainly complex, but can be mostly traced down to biology, behavior, and the current “obesogenic” environment that exists in many countries, consisting of an “abundance of energy dense food, motorized transport and sedentary lifestyles." For this reason, developed economies face a particularly acute risk of “passive obesity,” resulting from the simple act of living in such an environment. Studies show that “excess body weight is pandemic, with one-half to two-thirds of the overall study population being overweight or obese,” as described by Beverley Balkau, director of research at INSERM, a French health research institute. The spread of obesity is particularly alarming due to its linkages to the development of chronic illnesses, in particular diabetes and heart disease.

In conclusion, the report points out that much like the struggle against climate change, the fight against obesity will require an entirely new way of thinking about society’s approach to the problem. Cooperation among government, industry, communities, and families will be required to produce and promote healthy diets while shifting the environment’s emphasis away from motorized transportation. The full “Tackling Obesity” report is available here.