Summary
A report from the McKinsey Global Institute states that the worldwide cost of obesity is equal to that of smoking or armed conflict. It is estimated to cost £1.3 trillion, or 2.8% of world GDP. Obesity probably costs the UK £47 billion overall, according to this report.
Around 2.1 billion people (30% of global population) are overweight or obese. Independent view are presented regarding potential strategies to tackle obesity; the report covers 74 possible interventions (across 18 groups) worldwide. The 18 broad groupings are:
- Active transport.
- Health-care payors.
- Healthy meals.
- High-calorie food and drink availability.
- Labeling.
- Media restrictions.
- Parental education.
- Pharmaceuticals.
- Portion control.
- Price promotions.
- Public-health campaigns.
- Reformulation.
- School curriculum.
- Subsidies, taxes, and prices.
- Surgery.
- Urban environment.
- Weight management programs.
- Workplace wellness.
Reference
Pym, H. (2014). Obesity ‘costing same as smoking’. London: BBC Health News, November 20th 2014.
This relates to:
Reference
Dobbs, R. Sawers, C. [and] Thompson, F. [et al] (2014). Overcoming obesity: an initial economic analysis. Discussion paper. London & San Francisco: McKinsey Global Institute, November 19th 2014.
There is also an Executive Summary.
Obesity Population Subgroups?
A recent study examined subgroups of obese individuals, to avoid misdirected catch-all approaches to tackling obesity.
Reference
Scientists call for stop to ‘one-size-fits-all’ weight loss plans. London: BBC Health News, April 18th 2015.
This relates to:
Full Text Link (Note: This article requires a suitable Athens password, a journal subscription or payment for access).
Reference
Green, MA. Strong, M. [and] Razak, F. [et al] (2015). Who are the obese? A cluster analysis exploring subgroups of the obese. Journal of Public Health. April 18th 2015. [Epub ahead of print]. (Click here to view the PubMed abstract).
Possibly also of interest:
Ng, M. Fleming, T. [and] Robinson, M. [et al] (2014). Global, regional, and national prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adults during 1980-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. Lancet. August 30th 2014, Vol.384(9945), pp.766-81. (Click here to view the PubMed abstract).
More recently:
Reference
Roberts, M. (2015). UK children becoming obese at younger ages. London: BBC Health News, May 20th 2015.
This relate to:
Reference
Li, L., Kuh, D. [and] Hardy, R. (2015). (2015). How has the age-related process of overweight or obesity development changed over time? co-ordinated analyses of individual participant data from five United Kingdom birth cohorts. PLoS Medicine. May 19th 2015. [Epub ahead of print].
