09:04 ص
Thursday 05 May 2022
Agencies:
The World Health Organization has warned that obesity rates have reached “epidemic proportions” in Europe, and the issue is highlighted in a major report unveiled at the European Congress on Obesity.
The health watchdog warned that rates are “still rising”, noting that no country in the region is expected to meet the World Health Organization’s goal of non-communicable diseases (NCD) of halting rising obesity rates by 2025.
The report stated: “It is worrying, that there have been continuous increases in the prevalence of overweight and obesity, and not a single member country in the region is on the right track to reach the goal of halting the rise in obesity by 2025,” according to “Russia Today”.
The disease contributes to the death of about 1.2 million people and causes about 200,000 cases of cancer in the region annually. That number is set to grow further, and in some countries obesity is expected to outpace other cancer risk factors, including even smoking, the report says.
It also stated: “Across the WHO European region, obesity is likely to be directly responsible for at least 200,000 new cancer cases annually, and this number is expected to rise in the coming decades.”
Currently, about 59% of adults in Europe are overweight or obese, according to World Health Organization figures. The problem affects children, too: about 7.9% of children under five – numbering around 4.4 million – already have problems with excess weight.
The situation is significantly worse among school-age children, with one in three of them being overweight. The trend is “temporarily declining in adolescents”, with about a quarter of them affected. The report said obesity in Europe is higher than in any other region in the world except the Americas.
The World Health Organization said that a comprehensive approach must be taken to tackle this problem, recognizing that “no single intervention can stop the growing epidemic.”
Suggested measures include increasing taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages and healthy food subsidies, and restrictions on unhealthy foods to children, as well as “improving access to obesity and overweight management services in primary health care, as part of universal health coverage.”