In 2022, there were more than 1 billion obese people in the world, with the proportion more than doubling among adults and more than quadrupling among children and young people since 1990.
A study on obesity in the world, published in British Medical Journal The scalpel Which, with input from the World Health Organization, indicates that nearly half of the adult population (43%) will be overweight in 2022.
In Portugal, obesity affected 2.3 million adults and 107,000 children and adolescents (aged 5 to 19 years) in 2022. In adults, the prevalence of obesity in the country, in that year, varied between 22% (men) and 23% (women). . ). In children and young people, the prevalence ranged between 6.4% (girls) and 9.3% (boys).
Since 1990, the prevalence of the disease in Portugal has increased among adults – 14.3 percentage points in men and 7.0 percentage points in women – and among children and adolescents – 1.6 percentage points in girls and 4.4 percentage points in boys.
In total, globally, 879 million adults and 159 million children and young people were obese in 2022, according to the study's estimates, which are based on an analysis of data from 221 million people from more than 190 countries.
From 1990 to 2022, the obesity rate among adults has doubled – from 8.8% to 18.5% in women and from 4.8% to 14.0% in men – and more than quadrupled among children and young adults – rising from 1.7% to 6.9%. for girls and from 2.1% to 9.3% for boys.
The countries that suffer most from obesity and excessive thinness
Tonga, American Samoa (Polynesia) and Nauru (Micronesia) are the countries or territories with the highest prevalence of obesity among adults in 2021 (more than 60% of the adult population). Among children and adolescents, the prevalence of obesity was highest in Niue and the Cook Islands (more than 30% of children and youth).
The study also provides data on excessive thinness (weight less than recommended), which is considered a form of malnutrition along with obesity.
Between 1990 and 2022, the global proportion of very thin children and young people fell by about a fifth for girls and more than a third for boys, while the proportion for adults fell by half.
Two years ago, 347 million adults and 185 million children and teens were underweight, the study estimated.
In Portugal, excessive thinness affected 117,000 adults and 28,700 children and youth in 2022. In adults, the prevalence of underweight ranged between 2.4% (women) and 1.5% (men). In children and adolescents, the prevalence ranged between 1.4% (girls) and 2.6% (boys).
Timor-Leste, Eritrea and Ethiopia are the countries with the highest prevalence of extreme thinness in adults in 2022 (more than 20% of the adult population).
Among children and adolescents, the prevalence of underweight was highest in India, Sri Lanka and Niger (more than 15% of the child and adolescent population).
The study concluded that in all age groups analysed, the combined weight of both forms of malnutrition (obesity and extreme thinness) increased in many countries between 1990 and 2022 due to increasing obesity rates.
Countries in North Africa and the Middle East, as well as the Pacific and Caribbean islands, will see the highest rates of malnutrition in 2022.
Guha Pradipa, one of the study's authors, from the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, an Indian diabetes research organization, warns, citing the statement issued by: magazine The scalpelThis is because of the risk that climate change, disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine will exacerbate malnutrition, by “increasing poverty and the cost of nutrient-dense foods”. He warned that “the repercussions of this are insufficient nutrition in some countries and families, and a shift to less healthy foods in other countries,” calling for “the development of comprehensive policies to confront these challenges.”
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