WHO: 60% of Europeans overweight or obese
BrusselstimesOct 10, 2022
On Tues., the WHO published a report stating that obesity has reached epidemic proportions in Europe and is behind 200K cancer cases and 1.2M deaths/year.
According to the 2022 Regional Obesity Report, ~60% of adults in Europe are overweight or obese, including 1 in 3 children. The health crisis has been exacerbated by COVID lockdowns according to the report.
Obesity is an ongoing problem that knows no borders and must be addressed. No single intervention will halt this growing epidemic; it must be tackled with a multifaceted approach.
While obesity is a problem, the bigger issue at hand is fat-shaming. Weight stigma actually contributes to unhealthy eating behaviors, lower physical activity, and weight gain. Stigma is an enemy to health and needs to be taken more seriously.