Researchers at Imperial College London and the World Health Organization (WHO) warn that the number of obese children and adolescents worldwide has jumped tenfold in the past 40 years, indicating the rate is accelerating in low- and middle-income countries. The authors indicate childhood and teen obesity rates have levelled off in the U.S., north-western Europe and other rich countries, although these rates remain "unacceptably high". Nearly 8% of boys and 6% of girls worldwide were obese in 2016, compared to less than 1% for both sexes in 1975. The highest rates were observed in Polynesia and Micronesia, where 25.4% of girls and 22.4% of boys are obese, followed by "the high-income English-speaking region" that includes Canada, the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Britain. The researchers called for:
- Better nutrition at home and at school;
- More physical exercise;
- Clear food labels on salt, sugar and fat content to help consumers make "healthy choices"; and
- Taxation and tough restrictions on marketing of junk food, with WHO already recommending a 20% tax on sugary drinks to reduce consumption.
Autres nouvelles:
En 40 ans, les cas d'obésité chez l'enfant et l'adolescent ont été multipliés par dix - OMS
L'obésité gagne du terrain chez les enfants canadiens - ICI Radio-Canada
Dix fois plus de jeunes obèses qu'en 1975 - Radio-Canada
L'OMS tire la sonnette d’alarme au sujet des 124 millions d’enfants obèses dans le monde - L'Avenir
Santé: l'obésité infantile explose dans le monde - RFI
Le nombre d'enfants obèses dans le monde multiplié par 10 en 40 ans - Le Figaro
Global childhood obesity rates now 10 times higher than in 1975 - CTV News
Canada cited as global number of obese children and teens swells - Reuters
Tenfold global rise in childhood/teen obesity since 1975 - OnMedica