Obesity: The overlooked crisis in global health
As the global response to addressing obesity reaches a tipping point, once again, a major health report has failed to prioritise the issue.
The Lancet Commission on Investing in Health 2050 report, led by economist Lawrence Summers, presents a list of the top fifteen health challenges for the next 25 years. While the report’s recommendations aim to halve premature mortality globally, it continues to overlook one of the most pressing issues of our time: obesity.
Despite affecting over one billion people worldwide and being a leading driver of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), obesity is reduced to a mere mention under health taxes in this report. This omission reflects a pattern seen time and again, where obesity is treated as a minor prevention issue, overshadowed by other public health priorities.
As highlighted in the recent publication, “Obesity is South Africa’s New HIV,” the parallels between these two public health crises are striking. Just as with HIV in the early 2000s, tools to prevent and treat obesity are available but are being overlooked due to government inaction, industry interests, and societal inertia.
The cost of ignoring obesity
The data speaks for itself: obesity is projected to affect almost 2 billion people within the next decade, costing the global economy an estimated $4 trillion annually.
The evidence is clear that single-silo approaches and strategies that frame obesity as an issue of individual behaviour are not enough to address this growing crisis. What’s needed is a coordinated, global response that treats obesity as the serious public health emergency it is.
ECONOMIC IMPACT REPORT
Systemic bias: The root of the problem
The global obesity community is increasingly frustrated by the continued disregard for obesity in health agendas. Deeply entrenched biases and misinformation about the causes and impacts of obesity play a significant role in this neglect. Despite the growing body of evidence demonstrating the need for urgent action, obesity continues to be diluted across multiple agendas with insufficient resources and coordination.
Political indifference and the failure to recognise obesity as a disease and a significant driver of NCD mortality are contributing to the failure of governments to meet NCD and nutrition targets. While leaders in countries like Seychelles have declared obesity a health emergency, the medical establishment has been described as a barrier to effective action.
WORLD OBESITY ATLAS 2024
Obesity cannot be ignored any longer
The World Obesity Federation is calling on global health experts, policymakers, and governments to take immediate, coordinated action on obesity. Global health experts including those in the latest Lancet Commission must do better in recognising the true scale and impact of this issue. Obesity is not just a risk factor for other diseases; it is a major health challenge in its own right, one that deserves the full attention of the global health community.
This omission from the Global Health 2050 report is not just another missed opportunity—it’s a call to arms. If the Commission is serious about halving premature mortality, obesity must be at the forefront of global health agendas.
The World Obesity Federation will continue to challenge these omissions and push for obesity to be recognised and treated with the urgency it requires. The time for action is now.
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