Yasmina Kattou 2:01 p.m., May 04, 2022
A WHO report warns of growing obesity among the population in Europe.
A phenomenon that affects adults as much as children, partly linked to the coronavirus pandemic which has reinforced sedentary lifestyles, and which worries health authorities.
The WHO is sounding the alarm in a report published on Tuesday.
Today, in Europe, 1/4 of adults are obese.
A scourge that also affects children, since 1 child in 3 is overweight.
By way of comparison, since 1975, the number of obese people has increased by 138%, ie it has more than doubled, warns the WHO.
What are the health consequences?
Obesity is the cause of at least 13 types of cancer, subsequently likely to cause more than 200,000 deaths each year.
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In its report, the World Health Organization points to the restrictions taken to slow the progression of Covid: successive confinements and school closures have prevented citizens from playing sports.
Also, our eating habits have also changed since the start of the health crisis.
The track of a tax on sugary drinks
All of these factors increase the risk of becoming overweight.
According to the WHO, to reverse the trend, emergency measures must be taken by the public authorities.
Among other things, the Organization suggests taxing sugary drinks, subsidizing healthy foods and limiting the marketing of unhealthy foods to children.
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Overweight and obesity are thus the cause of more than 1.2 million deaths per year, representing more than 13% of deaths in the region, according to the WHO study.