Obesity is, without a doubt, a serious threat to our generation. At a time when one third of the world is struggling with hunger, another third of the world is fighting overweight. Although the growing number of obese patients puts the world at great risk, the alarming issue is that of overweight. Currently, there are more than 150 million obese children worldwide, and if the necessary measures are not taken, that number will rise to 250 million by 2030.
Recent research on child obesity in 191 countries, conducted by the World Obesity Federation, showed that children in developing countries such as Africa, Asia and Latin America were particularly at risk as a result of rapidly changing lifestyles, along with the growing popularity and aggressive marketing of ready-made foods.
The report also found that Pacific islands, such as the Cook Islands and Palau, ranked high among the countries most at risk for the next decade. In addition to a less active lifestyle, the island nations were more dependent on imports of highly processed and heavy foods with sugar and fat. The report also indicated that no country involved in the research would meet an agreed goal at a World Health Organization (WHO) summit in 2013, which mandated that child overweight levels not be higher. in 2025 than they were between 2010 and 2012.
According to WHO data, 32% of children in Turkey, between the ages of 2 and 18, are on the verge of being overweight.
