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Obesity: Global Pandemic
Book chapter

Obesity: Global Pandemic

Shiriki K Kumanyika, Neville Rigby, Tim Lobstein, Rachel Jackson Leach and W. Philip T James
Clinical Obesity in Adults and Children, pp 423-439
29 Jul 2009

Abstract

global burden of disease globalization nutrition nutrition transition physical activity
Obesity is a societal problem affecting whole populations, not merely individuals, and its impact now extends globally to adults and children in economically developed and less developed countries alike. The reasons for the trends of increased obesity include environmental factors such as globalization, economic changes, and urbanization that have changed the types of quantities of food available and typical levels of physical activity and resulted in chronic positive energy balance and increases in average body weights. Higher population weight levels are reflected in the global burden of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, with alarming numbers of people affected. Solutions must involve policy and environmental changes. Even with the best treatment strategies, the numbers becoming overweight or obese will overwhelm our capacity for primary care even of secondary conditions such as type 2 diabetes. Thus effective prevention strategies provide the only option for an ultimate long‐term solution to the global pandemic.

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