Europeans hit by a galloping epidemic of obesity, aggravated by the Covid

More than one in two adults (59%) and almost one in three children (29% of boys and 27% of girls) are now overweight or obese in the WHO European Region. This is the catastrophic finding that is drawn up in the new European Regional Report of the World Health Organization (WHO) on obesity 2022, published this Tuesday, May 3. « Overweight and obesity rates have reached epidemic proportions in the Region note the authors,and continue to rise, with none of the Region’s 53 Member States currently on track to meet the WHO global noncommunicable disease (NCD) target of halting the rise in obesity by by 2025

« .

Behind the Americas, the European Region thus ranks second in the world in terms of prevalence of obesity in adults. In Belgium, 59.5% of adults, mostly men, are affected by overweight or obesity, compared to 25.5% of children aged 5 to 9 and 23.1% of 10-19 year olds. Among the leading causes of death and disability in the European Region, overweight and obesity are estimated to cause more than 1.2 million deaths per year, which corresponds to more than 13% of mortality total.

Obesity is known to increase the risk of many non-communicable diseases, including cancers, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic respiratory diseases. Overweight and obesity are actually associated with an increased risk of developing cancer for 14 locations: breast, colon/rectum, kidney, endometrium, liver, pancreas, esophagus, gallbladder, stomach, ovary, mouth/pharynx/larynx, prostate (at advanced stage). According to the WHO report, obesity is likely to be directly responsible for at least 200,000 new cases of cancer each year in the European Region. This figure is expected to increase further in the years to come.

Extra pounds are also responsible for 7% of the total number of years lived with disability in the area concerned.

Covid and digital lifestyles amplify the phenomenonThe Covid crisis has also shown us that obesity is one of the main risk factors among victims of the coronavirus. Not only has the virus hit this population harder, but it has also led to adverse changes in food consumption and physical activity patterns during the pandemic. Behaviors »which will have effects on the health of the population in the years to come and which will require considerable efforts to reverse

“, has already warned the WHO.That said, a disease with complex causes, obesity is not just about the simple combination of poor diet and physical inactivity, as the report highlights again, presenting the latest evidence highlighting how vulnerability to body weight unhealthy early in life can affect a person’s tendency to develop obesity. « Environmental factors specific to life in the highly digitized societies of modern Europe are also drivers of obesity »

, underlines in this regard the WHO, whose report explores, for example, how the digital marketing of unhealthy food products to children and the proliferation of sedentary online games contribute to the growing tide of overweight and obesity in the Region. European. In search of solutions, the report also examines how digital platforms could also offer, conversely, opportunities for promotion and discussion on health and well-being.

Tax sugary drinks, restrict the marketing of junk food…Anxious to stem the growing epidemic, after the unprecedented health crisis that we have just gone through, the UN organization recommends to Member States a series of interventions and political options to be implemented in order to prevent and combat the obesity. « Obesity knows no borders. In Europe and Central Asia, no country alone will achieve the WHO global NCD target of halting the rise in obesity said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe.The countries of our Region are incredibly diverse, but each faces some degree of challenge. By creating more enabling environments, promoting health investment and innovation, and building strong and resilient health systems, we can change the trajectory of obesity in the Region.

« .Making a statement is one thing. Offering solutions is another. Convinced that the fight against obesity is essential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, the WHO has made it a priority in its European work program 2020-2025. « To reverse the course of the obesity epidemic, tackle food inequalities and achieve ecologically sustainable food systems the WHO insists on the need to work in a global manner.Obesity is complex, with multi-faceted determinants and health consequences, which means that no single intervention can stop the rise of the growing epidemic. Any national policy aimed at solving the problems of overweight and obesity must be based on high-level political commitment. They must also be comprehensive, reaching people throughout their lives and targeting inequalities. Obesity prevention efforts must consider the broader determinants of disease, and policy options must move away from approaches that focus on individuals and address the structural drivers of obesity. »

More concretely, the report lists some specific policies that show promise in reducing levels of obesity and overweight. And to cite a few examples: the implementation of fiscal interventions (such as the taxation of sugary drinks or subsidies for healthy foods); restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy foods to children; improving access to obesity and overweight management services in primary health care, within the framework of universal health coverage; efforts to improve diet and physical activity across the lifespan, including care before conception and during pregnancy, promotion of breastfeeding; school-based interventions and those aimed at creating environments that improve the accessibility and affordability of healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity.

The WHO Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe) is one of six WHO Regional Offices worldwide. It serves the WHO European Region which includes 53 countries and covers a large geographical area stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.
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Europeans hit by a galloping epidemic of obesity, aggravated by the Covid

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