Written by Ivana Katsarova.
World Obesity Day – celebrated every year on 4 March – is a World Obesity Federation initiative supporting practical solutions to help reverse obesity. People who are overweight but not obese are considered to be pre-obese. It has been estimated that 1 billion people globally will be living with obesity by 2030. Countries will not only miss the 2025 World Health Organization (WHO) target to halt the rise in obesity at 2010 levels, but the number of people with obesity is expected to double across the globe by 2035.
Nearly 51 % of the EU’s population aged 16 and over are overweight and 17 % are obese. Overweight and obesity are ising dramatically in children, as well as in adults. Between 1975 and 2016, obesity in the WHO European region, gathering 53 countries, rose by 138 %. No EU country is on track to reach the target of halting the rise in obesity by 2025.
The causes of obesity are more complex than just the combination of an unhealthy diet and physical inactivity and include the interaction between biological, genetic, social, psychological, and environmental factors. The COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine led to a rise in both poverty and food prices, particularly for nutrient-rich foods, driving consumers to switch to less healthy foods. Marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages, especially targeting vulnerable populations like children, and the rise of sedentary life and online gaming also contribute to growing obesity rates.
Obesity is among the leading causes of death and disability and is considered to be the cause of at least 13 different types of cancer.
The WHO highlights that policy interventions targeting environmental and commercial determinants of poor diet are likely to be most effective at reversing the obesity epidfedmic. Such policies include the introduction of taxation on sugar-sweetened beverages or subsidies for healthy foods; restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy foods to children; and efforts to improve diet and physical activity across the life course.
Read this ‘at a glance’ note on ‘Obesity in the EU: An ongoing epidemic‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.
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