00:00 More than a billion people globally are now considered obese.
00:05 That's according to new estimates from the World Health Organization and other researchers.
00:10 Obesity is linked to numerous serious health problems,
00:13 like the early onset of diabetes, heart and kidney disease.
00:17 The findings are based on data from more than 220 million people in more than 190 countries.
00:24 Francesco Branca is the Director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety at the World Health Organization.
00:30 Obesity rates have been increasing in all or in most of the world countries.
00:39 Only a few countries have been able to keep the rates at the levels of 30 years ago.
00:45 But in general there's been a large increase,
00:48 both in high income countries and in countries of lower income.
00:55 Between 1990 and 2022, obesity rates for adults more than doubled,
01:00 while the rate among children and adolescents more than quadrupled.
01:03 WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says implementing measures such as taxes on high sugar products
01:11 and promoting healthy school meals are needed to help tackle obesity rates.
01:16 Some scientists also say potent new obesity drugs like Novo Nordisk Zyugovi are tools that may help.
01:23 But their cost and low availability risk further increasing inequality.
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