Obesity has become a critical issue worldwide. Latest report suggests that about 30 percent of the total global population, or 2.1 billion people, were obese in 2013 that cost the world about $2 trillion.
McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) has released a report detailing some important facts about obesity in the world. The authors of the report highlights that the cost of obesity is just next to smoking and armed violence, war or terrorism, which costs about $2.1 trillion annually.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that over 78 million Americans are obese. The cost of obesity in the U.S. was estimated to be $147 billion in 2008 and these numbers have risen in the last few years. The CDC also suggests that obesity not only takes a medical toll on individuals, but also affects their family and costs the governments millions of dollars each year.
CDC also points out that the country spends $1,429 higher for an obese person when compared to someone who has normal body mass index (BMI).
MGI suggests that obesity has become a global concern and if it continues to increase at the current rate then about 50 percent of the global population will be obese by 2030. The report also suggests that obesity is preventable, which can save the lives of thousands of people and at the same time reduce the costs to the governments.
"MGI has studied 74 interventions (in 18 areas) that are being discussed or piloted somewhere around the world to address obesity, including subsidized school meals for all, calorie and nutrition labeling, restrictions on advertising high-calorie food and drinks, and public-health campaigns. We found sufficient data on 44 of these interventions, in 16 areas," per MGI.
The institute suggests that governments across the world should try a number of interventions, which include parental education, food portion control, healthy meals, surgery and more, on a large scale in different socioeconomic levels of the society. Each intervention should be evaluated to examine their efficacy.
MGI suggests that one particular intervention should not be prioritized over the other as it may distract the process of implementation on a large scale. The MGI report also points out the importance of exercising, which can help in weight reduction and act as a tool for avoiding obesity.
The report highlights that the importance of reducing obesity globally. MGI suggests that a joint effort between an individual, their families, governments and healthcare providers is needed to put a curb on obesity rate worldwide.
