500 million people are obese

A team of medical experts of the World Health Organization announced today that the planet is hit by a "tsunami of obesity", the number of overweight doubled from 1980 to today.

Worldwide, one in nine adults suffering from obesity, the total number of people with this problem exceeding half a billion. In 2008, the latest year for which statistics are recorded, a man and a woman of 10 in 7 were obese. Overweight causes 3 million premature deaths each year from causes as diverse as heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other diseases. WHO report argues that obesity is "urgent", but its predictions are pessimistic: " if global governments and health systems will not act quickly and broad plan against this scourge, the consequences will be to millions of premature deaths . " The problem mainly affects countries with a high standard: USA, New Zealand and Australia are the countries with the higher rates of obesity among women, and Britain and Australia hold the record in the number of men affected. However, many developing countries have a rapidly growing rate of obesity, especially in areas that are observed a rapid rate of urbanization."This study shows that one in three adults is overweight and one in nine is obese. It is a tsunami of obesity that affects possibly all regions of the planet", says researchers in this study released today by WHO. In 1980 worldwide obesity rate among men was 4.8%. In 2008 recorded a rate of 9.8%. For women, the rate increased from 7.9% in 1980 to 13.8% in 2008. body mass index (BMI) is the criterion by which obesity is defined. A BMI in range 25 to 30 are overweight, and when the index exceeds 30, the person is considered obese. body mass index is defined as the ratio of body weight in kilograms divided by height squared in meters. largest BMI recorded in populations of Oceania, where the index values ​​reach up to 35. In Europe, the most fat women are in Russia and Moldova, where the average BMI is 27.2 and, respectively, 27.1. Men most "vigorous" are the Czech Republic and Ireland. In contrast, the svelte women are found in Switzerland, Italy and France battling for 2nd. Moreover, Italy is the only country in Europe where women's average BMI decreased compared to 1980, from 25.2 to 24.8. Although obesity has long been considered strictly an issue of the West, the report shows that this problem is increasing in regions like the Middle East, where the average weight is very slightly below the level of obesity. Source: AFP