Obesity among Asia-Pacific children a growing health crisis, study says

KUALA LUMPUR — Obesity rates among children in Asia-Pacific are rising at a rapid rate, and more action is needed to encourage healthier lifestyles and ease pressure on fledgling healthcare systems, researchers said.

The number of overweight children under five rose 38 percent between 2000 and 2016 in the region, and the problem is growing, said Sridhar Dharmapuri, a food safety and nutrition officer at the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization in Bangkok.

“The rate of growth in obesity in Asia-Pacific is higher than in many other countries,” Dharmapuri said.

“While the United States leads the way on obesity rates, the number of overweight children in Asia-Pacific is rising rapidly, and many countries in this region are now among the most health-threatened in the world.”

Adult obesity rates are highest in the United States, Mexico, New Zealand and Hungary, and lowest in Japan and the Republic of Korea, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

But the rapid rise in obesity among young people in AsiaPacific is worrying because overweight children are at higher risk of becoming obese as adults and then developing serious health problems like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and liver disease.

Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand are among the most overweight countries in Southeast Asia.

The cost to the Asia-Pacific region of citizens being overweight or obese is $166 billion a year, the Asian Development Bank Institute said.

Rising wealth levels over the last 20 years have played a major role in the rise in obesity levels, researchers say.

“The region has undergone economic growth, so food has become available at a relatively cheaper price,” said Matthias Helble, an economist at the ADBI in Tokyo.