260 million in US will be overweight by 2050, says study

Lifestyle diseases are on the rise, and the scariest among them is obesity. A new study predicts that in a little over two decades, almost 260 million people will be overweight or obese. The shocking study published in the medical journal The Lancet, also happens to be one of the first to project how the nation will have a

obesity epidemic

by 2050.
The study suggests that 43.1 million children and adolescents and 213 million adults will be overwreight. According to the statistics in 2021, 36.5 million children and adolescents and 172 million adults were overweight.

America to face obesity epidemic by 2050

The study found out that the prevalence of

obesity

among U.S. women aged betwween 15 and 24 has increased faster compared to the men between 1990 and 2021. By 2050, the obesity in adolescent and adult women could surpass those of men. This points at hundreds of millions of people in the US facing several health complications, including high BMI, diabetes, cancer, heart issues, and mental health challenges. The economic burden is also significant, with obesity-related healthcare costs estimated between $261 billion and $481 billion in 2016.

Marie Ng, an affiliate associate professor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington School of Medicine and a co-author of the new paper, stated that she would consider this an ‘epidemic’.
According to World Health Organisation (WHO), Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. A body mass index (BMI) over 25 is considered overweight, and over 30 is obese.

The rise of obesity among young people is particularly alarming. Research suggests that individuals with obesity or overweight during youth are far more likely to experience weight-related issues as they age compared to those with an average weight. According to the study, Southern states (with the highest prevalence of obesity now) are more likely to be affected, including Oklahoma, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, West Virginia and Kentucky. When compared with the date in 2021, Colorado and New Mexico will have the highest spike. More than half of all adolescent males ages 15 to 24 have obesity or overweight in Texas, and in Missisippi, two-thirds of older adolescent females are obese, and 80% of adult women are also obese.
Prevention will be the key, and Dr. Barry Popkin, the W.R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor in the Department of Nutrition at the University of North Carolina stated that there is proof that population-level solutions can work if there is a will to implement them. Starting from the diet during pregnancy to implementing healthy feeding practices for infants, many lifestyle changes could prevent the epidemic. The study found out that making school meals healthier, and replacing junk food with vegetables could be the solution. The study suggested that as there are numerous complex factors (e.g., urbanization, flawed food and agricultural systems, food insecurity, and wealth inequality) contributing to obesity a whole-of-government, Health in all policies approach is required to impose multisectoral structural changes. And the changes include legislative amendments to promote access to healthy foods, social welfare interventions, and improved regulation of the food, agricultural, and marketing sectors.

It also noted that new-generation clinical treatments, and anti-obesity medications will be a key option for obesity management.
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