Strikingly, more than 75% of men and women suffer from overweight in countries as diverse as Egypt, Barbados, South Africa, Mexico or Argentina.
According to the WHO, 3 different factors can explain this paradox:
Shift in daily diet towards high energy, fat, salt and sugar intake;
The sedentary nature of modern life which doesn’t lead to physical activity;
Increasing urbanisation.
The WHO estimates that more than 1 billion people are overweight globally, figure that will increase to 1.5 billion in 10 years if action is not taken.
Overweight and obesity are risk factors to cardiovascular disease, which is the first cause fo deaths (17 million per year).
Approximately 80% of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and 40% of cancer could be avoided through healthy diet, regular physical activity and avoidance of tobacco use.
For more information:
