More than one in two adults (59%) and nearly 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 discovery elaborated in the new European Regional Report of the World Health Organization (WHO) on obesity 2022, published on Tuesday 3 May. “Rates of overweight and obesity have reached epidemic proportions in the region note the authors,and continue to grow, with none of the region’s 53 Member States currently on track to meet the WHO’s global noncommunicable disease (NCD) target of halting the rise in obesity by 2025
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After the Americas, the European Region therefore ranks second in the world for the prevalence of obesity in adults. 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 over 13% of total mortality.
Obesity is known to increase the risk of many noncommunicable diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and chronic respiratory disease. Overweight and obesity are actually associated with an increased risk of developing cancer for 14 sites: breast, colon / rectum, kidney, endometrium, liver, pancreas, esophagus, gallbladder, stomach, ovary, mouth / pharynx / larynx, prostate (in advanced stage). ). According to the WHO report, obesity is likely to be directly responsible for at least 200,000 new cancer cases each year in the European region. This figure is expected to further increase in the years to come.
The extra pounds are also responsible for 7% of the total number of years lived with disabilities in the affected area.
Covid and digital lifestyles amplify the phenomenonThe Covid crisis also showed us that obesity is one of the main risk factors among coronavirus victims. Not only has the virus hit this population the hardest, it has also led to negative 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 the course
“, the WHO has already warned.That said, a disease with complex causes, obesity is not just about the simple combination of poor diet and physical inactivity, as the report again points out, presenting the latest evidence highlighting how vulnerable to unhealthy body weight early in life can affect a person’s tendency to develop obesity. “Life-specific environmental factors in highly digitized societies in 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 wave of overweight and obesity in the European Region. In search of solutions, the report also examines how digital platforms can, on the contrary, also offer opportunities for promotion and discussion on health and well-being.
Tax sugary drinks, limit the marketing of junk food …Anxious to stem the growing epidemic following the unprecedented health crisis we have just experienced, the United Nations organization recommends to member states a series of interventions and policy options to be implemented to prevent and fight obesity. “Obesity knows no borders. In Europe and Central Asia, no single country will achieve the WHO’s 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 a certain degree of challenge. By creating more enabling environments, promoting healthcare investment and innovation, and building strong and resilient healthcare 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 achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, 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 build environmentally sustainable food systems WHO insists on the need to operate globally.Obesity is complex, with multifaceted 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 also need to be global, reach people throughout their lives and address inequalities. Obesity prevention efforts must consider the broader determinants of the disease and policy options must move away from approaches that focus on individuals and address the structural factors of obesity. “
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More concretely, the report lists some specific policies that show promise in reducing obesity and overweight levels. And to name 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 food for children; improve access to obesity and overweight management services in primary health care, as part of universal health coverage; efforts to improve diet and physical activity throughout life, including care before conception and during pregnancy, the promotion of breastfeeding; school 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 in the world. It serves the WHO European Region which comprises 53 countries and covers a large geographical area extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.