The burden of obesity is too heavy for world

About 2.1 billion people, or almost 30 percent of the world's population, are regarded as overweight (defined as a body mass index, or BMI, of 25 or higher) - double the number in 1980, and more than 2.5 times the number of people who are chronically hungry. In fact, according to a recent report by the McKinsey Global Institute, being overweight or obese is now linked to 2.8 million deaths a year - more than those associated with being underweight - via non-communicable diseases like type-2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. This is a serious problem, and addressing it will require sustained and well-coordinated action.

The data are unambiguous. In the United Kingdom, for example, 37 percent of the population is now deemed overweight, with a quarter of that group qualifying as obese (a BMI of 30 or higher). Though being overweight or obese is often perceived as accompanying wealth, the problem has disproportionately affected lower-income communities.

Moreover, in recent decades, the scourge has been spreading rapidly in many developing countries, especially the more prosperous among them. In the emerging economies, the rate of increase in the number of overweight and obese children has been more than 30 percent higher than that of developed countries in recent years. In fact, the trend is accelerating everywhere, with the number of overweight people worldwide having increased by some 40 percent in the past decade alone. At this rate, half of the world's adult population will be overweight in about 15 years.