Europe is getting even thicker
Luise Heine has been an editor at since 2012. The qualified biologist studied in Regensburg and Brisbane (Australia) and gained experience as a journalist in television, in the Ratgeber-Verlag and in a print magazine. In addition to her work at , she also writes for children, for example for the Stuttgarter Kinderzeitung, and has her own breakfast blog, “Kuchen zum Frühstück”.
More posts by Luise Heine All content is checked by medical journalists.MunichDifficult times are ahead for Europe: The World Health Organization (WHO) warns of a dramatic increase in obesity in the population. In some countries, people of normal weight could be the exception by 2030, she predicts.
For their analysis, Dr. Joao Weber from WHO and Dr. Laura Webber from the UK Health Forum took data from 53 European countries and extrapolated what is in store for Europe. In doing so, they painted a worrying picture.
Almost only fat Irish
According to the forecast, the Irish will be the sad front runners. In 2030, around 90 percent of men there will be overweight - that is, they have a body mass index (BMI) over 25. The islanders are thus continuing a trend. In 2010, 71 percent of Irish men were fat. In the case of Irish women, the proportion of obese people, i.e. people with a BMI over 30. It is expected to increase from 23 percent to 57 percent, is increasing. Doctors also refer to such a considerable overweight as obesity.
Twice as many obese Swedes
The proportion of not only fat people, but obese people is also increasing elsewhere. In Spain it almost doubles among men - from 19 to 36 percent. Sweden, where severe obesity is not so common at the moment, is also experiencing a major upswing. The obesity rate for Swedish men rose from 14 to 26 percent, and for women from 12 to 22 percent. Other countries with strong gains in weight will be Great Britain, Greece, the Czech Republic and Austria.
Germany is making little progress
The growth that is to take place in Germany also looks comparatively moderate. The proportion of overweight women is to rise from 44 to 47 percent, that of obese women from 15 to 21 percent. Men are also fatter than women in this country: The proportion of overweight people is expected to climb from 63 to 65 percent, while that of obese people increases from 17 to 24 percent. There is no reason to relax: In 15 years there will also be more fat people than normal-weight people in this country.
Exemplary Dutch people
Only in a few countries do the numbers of overweight and obese people remain stable. In the Netherlands, on the other hand, there is even a downward trend. In 2010 54 percent of men were considered too fat, in 2030 it will only be 49 percent. Obese men will only be 8 percent in 2030 (2010: 10 percent). The Dutch women, on the other hand, stay almost the same when it comes to overweight. On the other hand, the number of obese people drops sharply, from 13 to 9 percent.
Affordable healthy food
The researchers themselves limit the fact that the data situation was not optimal for some countries. In addition, it is an extrapolation, so the figures should be treated with caution. But still: "We urgently need strategies to stop this trend," said Webber. Above all, she sees politics as an obligation. These are intended to restrict advertising opportunities for unhealthy food and also make healthy food more affordable.
Too little exercise and too much and too rich food - these are the main reasons why someone carries too much hip gold with them. Overweight and obesity are therefore also typical problems of prosperity.The many love handles are especially dangerous for health, because diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases can be the result.
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