Approximately 50% of adults around the world will be living with overweight or obesity by 2050, researchers have warned.
New global data has revealed that a third of children, teenagers and young adults will also be classed as overweight or obese in the next 25 years.
A study examining obesity rates in more than 200 countries has suggested that the condition is expected to significantly rise in prevalence by 2050, especially in lower-income countries.
Experts are now urging governments to intervene and act now in a bid to prevent an obesity epidemic sweeping the globe.
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In 2021, nearly half of adults around the world were living with overweight or obesity, data has highlighted.
Since 1990, rates of obesity and overweight among both men and women have doubled, figures have shown.
Scientists have warned that if this continues, the number of adults living with overweight or obesity would rise to 57.4% for men and 60.3% for women by 2050.
It is predicted that China (627 million), India (450 million) and the USA (214 million) will have the most obese or overweight adults by 2050.
Sub-Saharan Africa will see rates rise by more than 250% to 522 million, academics have estimated.
According to the findings, Nigeria could become the country with the fourth-largest population of adults who are overweight or obese, with the predicted number projected to more than triple, going from 36.6 million in 2021 to 141 million in 2050.
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“If governments take urgent action now, there is still time to prevent what could be a disaster for vulnerable healthcare systems,” said experts.
Senior author Professor Emmanuela Gakidou said: “[Governments] can use our country specific estimates on the stage, timing, and speed of current and forecasted transitions in weight to identify priority populations experiencing the greatest burdens of obesity who require immediate intervention and treatment, and those that remain predominantly overweight and should be primarily targeted with prevention strategies.
“The unprecedented global epidemic of overweight and obesity is a profound tragedy and a monumental societal failure.”
Read the study in The Lancet.
