Obesity is one of the diseases that does not consider as a member of disease family by most of the population but according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development – OECD, the rate of obesity continues to hike across the world’s most developed countries and SES hit harder by the recent economic crisis, such as women and the poor.
According to the OECD’s report obesity rates are impartially stable in countries such as the Unites States, Canada, Korea and Italy. But the situation is alarming for the countries like Australia, France, Mexico, and Switzerland as the rates are raising on average by 3 percent a in countries such as, they have been, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in report.
The report is based on a review of data from 10 OECD countries and it will present on Wednesday at the European Congress on Obesity in Bulgaria, according to resource.
According to this data analysis the global recession that struck in 2008 forced many families in harder-hit nations to curtail spending on food, especially healthy options such as fruits and vegetables, in favor of cheaper, less healthy options. OECD found, in nations that managed better in the economic slowdown, certain groups of people, particularly women and those who are less educated and have lower incomes, were also more likely to be obese.
OECD – “The economic crisis is likely to have contributed to further growth in obesity; the obesity epidemic has not stopped spreading”
Obesity trends in selected OECD countries
The report will be present on Wednesday and most of the OECD’s 34 members are wealthy countries like United States and European nations, and some emerging economies such as Mexico and Turkey. The group does not include India, China or other bigger developing countries.
According to the OECD’s report, rising obesity rates can also add economic burden as governments grapple with the costs of chronic conditions linked to obesity such as diabetes, heart disease and even cancer. Current efforts aimed at preventing further weight gain, including using financial incentives to boost wellness or increasing basic health exams, are improving.
Few key points of the report are:
?The majority of the population, and one in five children, are overweight or obese in the OECD area. A nearly tenfold variation is observed across OECD countries, but existing data may not fully reflect the extent of the epidemic.
?Several countries have developed multi-stakeholder frameworks, involving business and civil society actors in the development of public health policies. Evaluations of the effectiveness of these initiatives are only beginning to emerge.
