Half of world will be overweight by 2035

Lockdowns fuel obesity epidemic that will cost global economy trillions

MORE than half the world’s population will be overweight or obese by 2035, a report warns.

The figure is set to soar from 2.6billion (38 per cent) in 2020 to four billion (51 per cent) in the next 12 years without action to tackle the crisis.

Obesity alone is anticipated to rise from 14 per cent to 24 per cent over this period, the analysis, released by the World Obesity Federation, said yesterday.

This would equate to two billion adults and children – one in four – raising their risk of cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The economic impact is predicted to more than double from £1.64trillion in 2020 to £3.35trillion in 2035.

This includes the healthcare costs of treating obesity and its consequences and the impact of high BMI on economic productivity, including sick leave, reduced productivity at work and early retirement or death.

The report blames Covid lockdowns for fuelling weight gain, as the curbs restricted exercise outside the home.

And the consequences may prove ‘ hard to reverse’, the study added. Surging obesity rates are expected to be steepest among children, growing from 10 per cent to 20 per cent of boys and from 8 per cent to 18 per cent of girls.

The increase in the number of overweight workers is forecast to reduce global output by 2.9 per cent a year by 2035.

By comparison, Covid caused the world economy to shrink by 3 per cent during 2020.

The report – called the World Obesity Atlas – states: ‘The period from 2020 to 2022 was marked by extensive restrictions or “lockdowns” in many countries that appear to have increased risk of weight gain by curtailing movements outside the home, exacerbating dietary and sedentary behaviours linked to weight gain, and significantly reducing access to care.’

In the uK, the proportion of adults that are obese is expected to increase by an average of 2.4 per cent a year, reaching 46 per cent by 2035. rates in children are forecast to grow by 2.8 per cent per year to more than 20 per cent by the same time.

Issues related to being overweight or obesity are likely to add £27.2billion to the cost of healthcare in the uK in 2035 and cost the wider economy £77billion.

A spokesman for the uK’s Obesity Health Alliance said: ‘These figures are all the more shocking because successive uK governments have had many opportunities to turn the tide on obesity but have failed to grasp them.’

The Department of Health said it has announced £20million to trial obesity treatments to help save the NHS billions.