日韩精品久久一区二区三区_亚洲色图p_亚洲综合在线最大成人_国产中出在线观看_日韩免费_亚洲综合在线一区

US EUROPE AFRICA ASIA 中文
Opinion / Op-Ed Contributors

The burden of obesity is too heavy for world

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram (China Daily) Updated: 2015-07-28 09:37

The burden of obesity is too heavy for world

Two-month-old Jyoti lies in a bed in a malnutrition intensive care unit in Dharbhanga Medical College in Dharbhanga in the eastern state of Bihar, India, April 16, 2015. Despite India's economic boom over the last two decades, 46 percent of its children under five are underweight, 48 percent are stunted and 25 percent are wasted, according to the latest government figures. But what is not so widely known is that the majority are girls - abandoned, neglected or given less nutritious food than their male siblings, say health workers, attributing it to patriarchal attitudes in the country. Picture taken April 16, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

About 2.1 billion people, or almost 30 percent of the world's population, are regarded as overweight (defined as a body mass index, or BMI, of 25 or higher) - double the number in 1980, and more than 2.5 times the number of people who are chronically hungry. In fact, according to a recent report by the McKinsey Global Institute, being overweight or obese is now linked to 2.8 million deaths a year - more than those associated with being underweight - via non-communicable diseases like type-2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. This is a serious problem, and addressing it will require sustained and well-coordinated action.

The data are unambiguous. In the United Kingdom, for example, 37 percent of the population is now deemed overweight, with a quarter of that group qualifying as obese (a BMI of 30 or higher). Though being overweight or obese is often perceived as accompanying wealth, the problem has disproportionately affected lower-income communities.

Moreover, in recent decades, the scourge has been spreading rapidly in many developing countries, especially the more prosperous among them. In the emerging economies, the rate of increase in the number of overweight and obese children has been more than 30 percent higher than that of developed countries in recent years. In fact, the trend is accelerating everywhere, with the number of overweight people worldwide having increased by some 40 percent in the past decade alone. At this rate, half of the world's adult population will be overweight in about 15 years.

The economic burden that this imposes is massive. Accounting for diminished economic productivity, direct costs to healthcare systems and the investment required to mitigate the impact of obesity, the McKinsey report places the annual losses at $2 trillion, or 2.8 percent of world GDP. This grim situation has led the World Health Organization - and the UN more generally - to recognize obesity as an epidemic that must be addressed urgently.

As the McKinsey report notes, no single intervention will have a sufficient impact; a comprehensive strategy is needed. Based on an assessment of 74 potential measures, the report offers several recommendations. These include reducing fast-food portions, restricting food and beverage advertising, providing consumers (especially parents) with better nutrition information, reformulating processed foods, requiring more exercise at school, and ensuring balanced, varied and healthy meals at school and workplaces.

The key to progress will be strong political will. First and foremost, policymakers and the public must recognize the scale of the problem. Following the Second International Conference on Nutrition, organized by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization and the WHO in Rome last November, some worried that the extent of nutrition issues (including under-nutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and excessive weight), as well as their human and economic burden, were overestimated. But recent numbers suggest the opposite: the conference underestimated these figures - not least with regard to obesity.

Likewise, public and private investors should be made aware of the very high returns associated with tackling nutrition issues. As it stands, only about 1 percent of total aid is allocated for this purpose, as investors prefer to focus on projects that pay off quickly, rather than on those that require a longer-term commitment. If they understood the longer-term benefits of investment in tackling nutrition-related challenges, they might be willing to reconsider this approach.

With coordinated and concerted policy action, we can make great strides toward eliminating malnutrition in all its forms, including hunger, micronutrient deficiencies (or "hidden hunger") and the diet-related non-communicable diseases associated with obesity. With obesity rising fast, there is no time to waste.

The author, coordinator for Economic and Social Development at the Food and Agriculture Organization, received the 2007 Wassily Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought.

Project Syndicate

Most Viewed Today's Top News
...
主站蜘蛛池模板: 亚洲精品久久久久久蜜臀 | 三级国产短视频在线观看 | 十八勿入 | 亚洲激情视频在线观看 | 国产一二三区精品 | 中国一级特黄真人毛片 | 精品视频久久 | 12av毛片 | 欧美 日韩 中文字幕 | 天天躁日日躁aaaa视频 | 国产亚洲视频免费播放 | 亚洲精品456人成在线 | 亚洲精品久久久久中文字幕欢迎你 | 日韩视频久久 | 91中文字幕在线 | 色无极在线 | 成人性生免费视频 | 九一传媒在线观看 | 日本一道一区二区免费看 | 奇米777四色成人影视 | 亚洲三级在线 | 久久久精品视频免费观看 | 色综合视频在线观看 | 狠狠的撸2015最新版狠狠的撸2015最新版 | 亚洲三区视频 | 久久久久久久影院 | 日韩精品一区二区三区免费观看 | 欧美鲁| 极品美女aⅴ高清在线观看 一级片片 | 亚洲免费视频网站 | xx00视频 | 日本喷潮 | 国产一区二区欧美 | 男女全黄做爰视频免费看 | 国产精品久久久久久久久久 | 免费看污成人午夜网站 | 亚洲天堂免费视频 | 欧美性猛交一区二区三区精品 | xxxx日本性| 老司机精品视频个人在观看 | 青青草视频破解版 |