Cost of obesity is equivalent to the wars

Notícia publicada em:

  • 21 de Novembro de 2014

MGI_obesity_HeroWithTextV3Obesity has a weight of US$ 2 trillion for the global economy (or 2.8% of global GDP), who still struggle to recover from the financial crisis of 2008. The cost of this pest represents virtually the same of smoking or of wars and terrorism in the world, and it means more than the burden of alcoholism and of climate change, revealed a survey of the McKinsey Global Institute, disclosed on Thursday.

About 2.1 billion people – i.e. almost 30% of the global population – are overweight or obese. That quota represents 2.5 times the undernourished in the world. And the problem is worsening quickly. If the growth rate of obesity continue at the current rate, almost half the adult world’s population will be overweight or obese by 2030, warns the report.

Obesity causes 5% of deaths worldwide. In the economic sphere, obesity accounts for 2% to 7% of the health spending in developed countries. But if they are indirectly related diseases computed to obesity, such as diabetes, for example, that cost could reach 20% of total health spending in the world.

The number of people with diabetes tends to increase “more dramatically” in economies with strong growth. “The occurrence of obesity is still high in developed economies and now, with emerging countries becoming wealthier, they also experience an increase in obesity rates”, the report says. The study also highlights that there is evidence that the productivity of workers is being undermined by obesity, undermining the competitiveness of enterprises.

The US$ 2 trillion cost of obesity (in 2012) is almost equivalent to that of the wars and of smoking, with US$ 2.1 trillion each. But obesity costs a lot more than alcoholism (US$1. 4 trillion), illiteracy (US$ 1. 3 trillion) and climate change (US$ 1 trillion), says the report.

On Thursday, a worldwide campaign to combat obesity and of awareness for a healthier and sustainable nutrition was launched by United Nations agencies specializing in food, agriculture (FAO) and health (WHO).

Source: Brasil Econômico.