Middle East: Youth Obesity by 2050

By 2050, more than half of children and young people in the Middle East and North Africa will likely face issues of being overweight.

At the current rate, the Middle East may surpass North America as the region with the highest levels of obesity worldwide.

This alarming trend is expected to result in significant societal and financial consequences globally.

Developing countries might need to pivot their focus from addressing hunger to tackling over-consumption, even as malnutrition and healthcare shortages remain pressing challenges.

Over the last three decades, the Middle East, North Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean have reported the fastest increases in overweight and obesity rates.

Projections show that by the middle of the century, approximately 55% of individuals aged 5 to 24 in the Middle East and North Africa will be overweight or obese.

Comparatively, 51% of young people in the United States and Canada are expected to experience similar weight issues by 2050.

Alarmingly, in Gulf countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, the percentage of overweight or obese young people could exceed 70%.

The economic burden is also substantial, with the costs of obesity in the UAE projected to reach $12 billion annually within the next decade. Globally, an estimated 360 million young individuals are expected to be obese by 2050, with one-third of these cases occurring in either the Middle East and North Africa or Latin America and the Caribbean.

While high-income countries also grapple with the challenges of obesity, low-resource nations face unique difficulties in implementing effective responses.

Healthy school meal programs could serve as a crucial strategy to combat both malnutrition and obesity. Since 1990, global rates of overweight and obesity have more than doubled.

Governments could use projections of future weight gain to highlight priority groups for intervention efforts.

Additionally, younger generations are becoming overweight or obese earlier in life compared to their parents.

By 2050, it is projected that more boys aged 5-14 will be categorized as obese rather than just overweight, underscoring the urgency of addressing these trends.

Source: thenationalnews

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