Four out of ten adults and nearly one in four children And teenagers will thick in our country in 2035 if strategies for the prevention and treatment of obesity are not immediately improved. In 12 years, if the upward trend in obesity continues, the annual medical costs of treating problems associated with this disease will reach $1.45 billion, compared with today’s estimates of $1.26 billion.

Ominous forecasts of the development of the obesity pandemic are included in the Global Atlas of Obesity 2023, published by World Obesity Federation, on the occasion of March 4 – World Obesity Day. Looking to the future and taking into account current trends, the authors of the report predict that in 2035, 51% of the world’s population (or more than 4 billion people) will be overweight or obese, compared with 38% in 2020. out of four, or 24% (nearly two billion), will be obese, up from 14% in 2020.

The rate of increase in obesity appears to be higher in children and adolescents than in adults. According to Atlas, obesity rates among children aged 5 to 19 are projected to double by 2035 compared to 2020 among boys (from 10% to 20%, or from 103 million to 208 million people) and will have a higher the level of obesity. more than doubled for girls (8% to 18% or 72 million to 175 million). The economic impact of obesity worldwide is expected to exceed four trillion by 2035, including health care costs, years of life lost due to premature death, disability and absenteeism from work due to illness.

For Greece, projections from the World Obesity Federation are that 39% of adults will be obese by 2035, compared to 29% in 2020. The relative percentage will reach 42% for men and 36% for women. For children and adolescents, obesity rates will increase from 12% in 2020 to 18% in 2035 for girls and from 19% to 27% for boys.

Based on current trends, in our country, 39% of adults will be obese in 2035, compared to 29% in 2020.

As George Panotopoulos, President of the Hellenic Society for the Study of Obesity, Metabolism and Eating Disorders, stated, “Obesity is a global problem and different regions face different challenges and priorities. This was once considered a problem for more developed countries. Today it is increasing on all continents, with the largest increase in South Asia and parts of Africa, areas where it was not previously common. Tellingly, in Africa in 2035, an estimated 13% of men and 31% of women will be obese, compared to 7% and 18% respectively in 2020. In America, obesity rates will reach 47% in men and 49% in women. women, from 32% and 37%, which was in 2020, and in Europe 39% and 35% (from 26% and 28%).

The Atlas also “assesses” the readiness of countries to tackle the obesity pandemic, taking into account the response of health systems and the intention to implement disease prevention policies. Of the ten least prepared countries, eight are in Africa. By contrast, the top ten countries are in Europe (Switzerland, Norway and Finland in the top three). Our country is among the well-prepared and is in 28th place out of 183 countries.

high ambitions

Mr. Panotopoulos notes that “this year our ambitions are higher than ever. Never before has there been such an understanding of the underlying causes of obesity, and now is the time to turn that knowledge into action. Everyone has their own role. At the local level, we need to ensure that health systems, schools and workplaces are equipped to reduce the risk and consequences of obesity. At the national level, we will push our institutions and representatives to act and address the structural roots of obesity.”