THE world is getting fatter and it鈥檚 not just rich westerners who are at risk. A global epidemic of fast food and increasingly sedentary lifestyles is taking its toll on poorer countries too. A staggering 1 billion of the world鈥檚 6.45 billion people are now overweight, warns the World Health Organization, and if the trend continues the figure will rise to 1.5 billion by 2015.
鈥淭he sheer magnitude of the overweight and obesity problem is staggering,鈥� says Catherine Le Gal猫s-Camus of the WHO. The rise in obesity in many low and middle income countries will create an overwhelming burden of chronic disease if nothing is done, she warns. The WHO鈥檚 latest estimates show more than 75 per cent of women over 30 to be overweight in countries as diverse as Barbados, Egypt, Malta, South Africa and the US. Similarly, 75 per cent of men are overweight in countries ranging from Argentina to the UK.
