Southeast Asia, North Africa, Sub-saharan Africa, and the Middle East are among regions that struggle the most with people maintaining a healthy weight.
Researchers with The Lancet feel that access to healthy food will play a major role in driving down obesity rates. After all, both the war in Ukraine and the COVID pandemic have led to upticks in healthy food prices.
Individuals living in poverty remain more likely to consume food that lacks nutritional value, yet is high in empty calories. Over time, this paves the way to obesity, along with a litany of other health and lifestyle problems.
Why obesity could continue to increase
Today, people are much more sedentary than the ancestors who came before them. In many countries around the world, almost anyone can easily order food from an app, rather than having to walk to the store for a meal.
Likewise, as remote and hybrid work styles gain popularity, people have to put in more conscious efforts to stay physically active on a regular basis. Sedentary living, combined with unhealthy eating, creates a perfect storm that saddles people with the chronic disease known as obesity.
