WUNRN
STUDY - DRAMATIC INCREASE IN OBESITY
- DIET CHANGES AS INCOME RISES - GENDER
3
January 2014 - The number of overweight and obese adults in the developing
world has almost quadrupled to around one billion since 1980, says a report
from a UK Institute. The Overseas Development Institute said one in three
people worldwide was now overweight and urged governments to do more to
influence diets. The report predicts a "huge increase" in heart
attacks, strokes and diabetes.Globally, the percentage of adults who were
overweight or obese - classed as having a body mass
index greater than 25 - grew from 23% to 34% between 1980 and 2008.......At
the same time, however, under-nourishment is still recognised to be a problem
for hundreds of millions of people in the developing world, particularly
children.......
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FUTURE DIETS - IMPLICATIONS FOR AGRICULTURE & FOOD PRICES
Direct Link to Full 133-Page 2014
Report:
• Over one third of all
adults across the world – 1.46 billion people – are obese or overweight.
Between 1980 and 2008, the numbers of people affected in the developing world
more than tripled, from 250 million to 904 million. In high-income countries
the numbers increased by 1.7 times over the same period.
• Diets are changing wherever incomes are rising
in the developing world, with a marked shift from cereals and tubers to meat,
fats and sugar, as well as fruit and vegetables.
• While the forces of globalisation have led to
a creeping homogenisation in diets, their continued variation suggests that
there is still scope for policies that can influence the food choices that
people make.
• Future diets that are rich in animal products,
especially meat, will push up prices for meat, but surprisingly, not for
grains. This suggests that future diets may matter more for public health than
for agriculture.
• There seems to be little will among public and
leaders to take the determined action that is needed to influence future diets,
but that may change in the face of the serious health implications.
Combinations of moderate measures in education, prices and regulation may
achieve far more than drastic action of any one type.
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