Report provides worrying figures - also because of Corona: WHO alarmed due to numerous deaths

Created: 05/03/2022Updated: 05/03/2022 21:39

By: Michelle Brey

A man stands on a scale.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than half of adults in Europe are overweight.

© Lino Mirgeler/dpa

Obesity and overweight are also a problem in Europe.

The WHO is now warning of the latest figures.

Munich – A report by the World Health Organization (WHO) makes you sit up and take notice.

The corona virus only plays a supporting role in this.

The focus is on the enormous extent of overweight and obesity in Europe.

The WHO sounds the alarm because of numerous deaths.

Obesity and Overweight: "Epidemic proportions" still to take

WHO Europe said in a report released on Tuesday (3 May 2022), the obesity rate in its jurisdiction has increased by 138 percent over the past five decades.

This means that almost a quarter of adults in Europe are now clearly too fat.

"Overweight and obesity have reached epidemic proportions in the Region and are still rising," the WHO warned.

"Elevated body mass index is a strong risk factor for non-communicable diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular disease," WHO chief for Europe Hans Kluge said in the report.

WHO Europe, which is based in Copenhagen, is responsible for 53 countries and territories not only in Europe but also in Central Asia.

What is Body Mass Index?

The body mass index, or BMI for short, is a formula that, according to the German Obesity Society, is used to estimate the percentage of body fat.

The BMI can be calculated as the ratio of the body weight in kilograms (kg) and the height in meters (m) squared.

In general, a distinction is made between five categories, which result from the respective calculated value.

A value between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered “normal weight”.

The BMI is not suitable for children, but for adults over the age of 18.

WHO: Millions of deaths attributed to overweight and obesity

The report cites obesity as a cause of at least 13 types of cancer.

At least 200,000 cancer cases a year are probably due to this factor.

This number is expected to increase further in the coming years.

• The WHO attributes more than 1.2 million deaths per year to overweight and obesity in the European Region.

• This corresponds to more than 13 percent of the annual deaths in the region.

The latest comprehensive data on obesity for WHO Europe is from 2016. According to it, 59 percent of adults and almost a third of children - 29 percent of boys and 27 percent of girls - were overweight.

In 1975, the rate among adults was 40 percent.

Coronavirus pandemic as a contributing factor to obesity gains

The WHO named the corona pandemic as an additional factor for the increase in obesity.

Lockdown measures to combat the pandemic have contributed to an unhealthy diet and a sedentary lifestyle.

At the same time, the corona virus has once again made the health risks of being overweight clear, emphasized Kluge.

"Obese people were at higher risk of suffering serious consequences of the Covid-19 spectrum, including admission to intensive care units and death," he said.

Taxation of sweetened drinks?

- WHO calls on politicians to take action to “curb the obesity epidemic”

The WHO therefore called on politicians to act:

• A tax on sweetened drinks and subsidies for healthy food make sense.

• The marketing of unhealthy products to children should be restricted.

"Policies that target the environmental and economic factors behind poor nutrition among the population as a whole are probably the most effective in curbing the obesity epidemic," said the WHO.

Meanwhile, the Corona situation in Germany seems to be easing.

The incidence is falling - but is still at a high level.