The prevalence of obesity has doubled in 73 countries around the world and steadily increased in others since 1980, and health problems resulting from being overweight or obese now affect more than 2 billion people, according to a study by an international group of researchers published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The investigators analyzed data from 195 countries to model trends in overweight and obesity between 1980 and 2015 and quantified the burden of disease related to high body mass index (BMI) according to age, sex, and cause among adults and children.