One third of world too thin or too fat
A third of people worldwide are either undernourished or overweight, driving increasing rates of disease and piling pressure on health services, a global report showed on Wednesday.
Rates of obese or overweight people are rising in every region of the world, and in nearly every country, according to the 2016 Global Nutrition Report – an annual independent stocktake of the state of the world’s nutrition.
Malnutrition comes in many forms – including poor child growth and development and vulnerability to infection among those who do not get enough food, and obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancer risks in people who are overweight or whose blood contains too much sugar, salt, fat or cholesterol.
According to the report, malnutrition is responsible for nearly half of all deaths of children under five worldwide and, together with poor diets, is the number one driver of disease.
At least 57 nations have a double burden of serious levels of under nutrition – including stunting – as well as rising numbers of adults who are overweight or obese, putting a massive strain on sometimes already fragile health systems
