The Economist publishes special report on obesity and its costs
December 21th, 2012
This week’s edition of The Economist includes a 14-page special report on obesity and its costs. The articles show how multifaceted the obesity problem is and the struggle various stakeholders like industry, governments and health professionals go through in their search for solutions. It touches upon the devastating implications of obesity in all aspects of life, “from army and workforce health to health care costs and national economic prospects”.
The double burden of increasing overweight in combination with malnourishment in developing countries is also addressed in the report. Studies conducted by Prof. Barry Popkin, Choices International Scientific Committee Member and Professor at the University of North Carolina, show that in recent years, there were more overweight than underweight women in developing countries.
The picture outlined in the articles underlines the need to globally link activities and stakeholders, to work on prevention on a global scale. The search for effective interventions is globally high on the agenda. And the roles of both government and industry are highly debated. Barry Popkin stated that “no place in the world have we had self-regulation shown to be successful at solving the issue”. Prof. Popkin is also the evaluator of the progress report on the US food industry’s pledge for next year “to remove 1.5 trillion calories from America’s diet”. His concern is the variation in companies’ commitments to change their practices, which he believes may change only in rich countries.
The articles also point out the important role of food industry, to which “rising obesity rates present a conundrum”. On one hand, companies need to make profit and keep their shareholders happy; on the other hand, every company needs a plan to improve nutrition and commit to fighting obesity.
The special report is a must-read for everyone interested in facts, figures, implications and solutions to the world’s fattest problem: obesity.