- A huge international analysis suggests obesity rates may be starting to level off in some richer countries, especially among children and teenagers.
- At the same time, obesity is rising rapidly in many lower and middle-income countries, where the problem is still accelerating.
- The findings suggest obesity is not one uniform global epidemic and will not be solved with one universal policy.
A major global study suggests obesity trends are starting to split along economic lines.
In many high-income countries, especially in western Europe, North America and Australasia, obesity rates appear to be slowing and in some groups may even be plateauing.
That is the better part of the news.
The worse part is that many lower and middle-income countries are moving in the opposite direction.
In parts of Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific, obesity is still rising fast, especially in children and adolescents.
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The study drew on data from 232 million people over 45 years, making it one of the biggest obesity analyses ever done.
Researchers found that the year-by-year pace of obesity increase matters, not just the total prevalence.
That is because some countries now look as though they may be stabilising, while others are still in the steep upward phase.
The reasons are not especially mysterious.
In richer countries, better access to health information, healthier food options and stronger policy responses may have started to slow the trend.
In poorer countries, rapid urbanisation, more sedentary work and increased dependence on cheap processed foods seem to be driving it up.
The study also makes an important point about obesity itself.
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It is not simply about willpower or even just about diet and exercise.
Food environments, poverty, policy, working patterns and access to healthier options all shape the outcome.
That is why one-size-fits-all solutions usually fail.
A country where obesity is plateauing needs a different strategy from one where childhood obesity is still accelerating sharply.
The global picture is not improving so much as splitting in two.
