Recent data from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that in 2022, more than 890 million adults had obesity, and approximately 2.5 billion were overweight, which means that 43% of adults worldwide are above the weight considered healthy. In children and adolescents, the numbers are also alarming: more than 390 million were categorized as being overweight in 2022, including about 160 million with obesity.
Even more worrying is the long-term trend: between 1990 and 2022, the prevalence of obesity more than doubled in adults and quadrupled in youth, according to international analyses.
A recently published global report predicts that, without effective interventions, by 2050 more than half of the world’s adult population could be overweight or obese, corresponding to approximately 3.8 billion adults, and nearly one-third of children and young people will also be affected.
In addition, the World Obesity Atlas 2025 reveals that most countries still do not have adequate policies to address the situation: two-thirds have not even implemented basic preventive and control measures, leaving millions of lives at risk and health systems vulnerable.
On the other hand, in parallel reports, projections for 2035 estimate that 51% of the world’s population, or approximately 4 billion people, may live with overweight or obesity if trends are not reversed, with economic impacts of billions of dollars per year.
“It is not just an individual issue, it is a collective challenge.”
Contacted by PLATAFORMA on this date, endocrinologist Miguel Sousa, who monitors the obesity epidemic in Portugal and also follows international trends, warns that the global scale exposes systemic failures in the way governments, industry, and communities handle nutrition and lifestyle.
“These numbers are not just statistics; they represent lives, futures, and real pressures on health and economies in nearly all countries. Obesity today surpasses malnutrition as the most prevalent form of poor nutrition in many regions of the world,” he says.
Miguel Sousa emphasizes once again that obesity is a chronic, multifactorial disease, resulting not only from individual choices but also from obesogenic food environments, urbanization, aggressive marketing of ultra-processed foods, and a lack of policies supporting healthy eating and physical activity.
Global inequality in impact
The prevalence of obesity and overweight is not uniform. Regions such as the Americas and the Western Pacific have the highest rates, while parts of Asia and Africa are also registering rapid increases as consumption and lifestyle patterns change.
In terms of children, an international report showed that childhood obesity now exceeds malnutrition in many parts of the world, a clear sign that the challenges have changed radically in recent decades.
What needs to be done globally according to the expert:
- Robust public policies: legislating to limit the marketing of ultra-processed foods, promoting clear food labeling, taxing sugary drinks, and supporting accessible fresh foods.
- Education and healthy environments: from childhood, school programs that make healthy eating and physical activity a social norm and not an elite choice.
- Fight against inequalities: equitable access to health services, prevention, and treatment, regardless of having or not having resources.
- Multisectoral response: integrate public health, education, agriculture, and urban planning to address the social determinants of obesity.
“Without clear, coordinated, and sustained action, we risk condemning generations to preventable chronic diseases and a significant decrease in quality of life,” he concludes.
