More than a billion people are severely overweight. The proportion of obese people in the population has more than doubled since 1990.
The highest overall obesity rates were in island states in the Pacific such as Niue, Tonga and American Samoa, sometimes over 60 percent. Malnutrition is responsible for half of all deaths among children under five. Obesity can be prevented through good nutrition and exercise from childhood onwards, reported the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, which was involved in the study.