WHO warns of massive obesity problem in Europe

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned about a looming obesity crisis in Europe.

According to a study conducted by the WHO, Europe is facing a rising obesity trend of vast proportions. The research shows that more than half of adults in many European nations will be above the healthy weight limit by 2030.

The results also show that Ireland will be the most obese country in Europe with nearly 90 percent of men and 57 percent of women becoming overweight by the next 15 years.

The estimates are part of the WHO Modelling Obesity Project, presented at the European Congress on Obesity held in the Czech capital, Prague.

Greece, the UK, Spain, Austria and the Czech Republic are also among the countries where obesity rates are expected to rise sharply.

The alarming predictions have even been made about countries which usually have a low prevalence of obesity. Sweden, for example is expected to see an estimated 26 percent of its male citizens become overweight by 2030 compared with 14 percent in 2010. Obesity rates will also rise from 12 percent to 22 percent among Swedish women.

Health experts have urged European governments to tackle the problem by restricting unhealthy food marketing and making healthy food more affordable.

Obesity is considered to be the cause of disease and disability around the world.

A study conducted by the McKinsey Global Institute has revealed that over 2.1 billion people around the world are now overweight or obese. The figure accounts for nearly 30 percent of the world population.

Obesity is the cause of about five percent of all deaths worldwide and costs the global economy 2 trillion US dollars in healthcare and lost productivity.

TE/NN

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