Almost 1 in 4 people worldwide to be obese by 2045

If current trends continue, almost a quarter (22%) of the people in the world will be obese by 2045 (up from 14% in 2017), and one in eight (12%) will have type 2 diabetes (up from 9% in 2017), according to a study presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity in Vienna, Austria (23-26 May). The findings were presented by Novo Nordisk as part of the Cities Changing Diabetes programme which researchers from UCL Medical Anthropology co-founded alongside colleagues from the Steno Diabetes Center and Novo Nordisk in 2014. The programme has created a global network of 15 partner cities around the world united in an attempt to stem the rise in type 2 diabetes. The team found that in order to prevent the prevalence of type 2 diabetes from going above 10% in 2045, global obesity levels must be reduced by 25%, from 14% to just over 10%. Population data for all countries in the world were obtained from the Non-communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration (WHO). For each country and age group, the share of people in each body mass index (BMI) class was then projected. The diabetes risk for each age and BMI group was then applied, allowing estimations of diabetes prevalence for each country each year.