11th October is World Obesity Day and is marked in 2017 for the third time. It was launched to stimulate discussion and support practical actions to help people achieve and maintain a healthy weight and reverse the global obesity crisis.
The World Obesity Federation along with global health leaders, including The Lancet and the World Health Organization, shine a spotlight on staggering costs and continued impact of obesity, including new data showing the continued increase in childhood obesity and the financial consequences of untreated obesity at all ages.
New World Obesity Federation data demonstrates how investing in the prevention, early intervention and treatment of obesity is a cost-effective action for governments and health services. Investment can also help to achieve the 2025 targets set by the World Health Organization to halt the rise in obesity and to achieve a 25% relative reduction in mortality from NCDs.
Untreated, obesity is responsible for a significant proportion of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including heart disease, diabetes, liver disease and many types of cancer. The global annual medical cost of treating these serious consequences of obesity is expected to reach US$1.2 trillion per year by 2025 .
The World Obesity Federation is using World Obesity Day, 11th October, to urge governments, health service providers, insurers and philanthropic organisations to prioritise investment in tackling obesity. This means:
- Investing in treatment services to support people affected by obesity
- Early intervention to improve the success of treatment and
- Prevention to reduce the need for treatment.
For more information, access the World Obesity Day website.
*All rights belong to the World Obesity Federation. We would like to thank the World Obesity Federation for sharing this content with us.
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Overweight and obesity are major risk factors for a number of chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Once considered a problem only in high income countries, overweight and obesity are now dramatically on the rise in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in urban settings.