Agencies
: London , Tue
Jun 19 2012, 11:01 hrs
Increasing levels of fatness around the world
could have the same impact on global resources as adding an extra billion
people to the planet, say researchers.
The team from the London School of Hygiene
and Tropical Medicine estimated the total weight of people on the planet and
found that North America had the highest
average.
Although only 6 percent of the global
population live there, it is responsible for more than a third of the obesity.
In their report, published in the journal BMC
Public Health, the researchers calculated the weight of the global population
at 287 million tonnes.
They estimated that 15 million tonnes of this
mass is due to people being overweight, and 3.5 million tonnes due to obesity.
Using World Health Organization data from
2005, the scientists worked out that the average global body weight was 62kg
(137lb). But there were huge regional differences. In North America, the
average was 80.7kg (178lb), while in Asia it
was 57.7kg (127lb).
While Asia
accounts for 61percent of the global population, it only accounts for 13
percent of the weight of the world due to obesity.
“When people think about environmental
sustainability, they immediately focus on population. Actually, when it comes
down to it - it’s not how many mouths there are to feed, it’s how much flesh
there is on the planet,” said Prof Ian Roberts, one of the authors of the
paper.
The researchers argued that just focussing on
obesity is divisive and unhelpful.
“One of the problems with definitions of
obesity is that it fosters a ‘them and us’ ideal. Actually, we’re all getting
fatter,” Prof Roberts told BBC News.
The scientists also compiled tables of the
heaviest and lightest countries according to their estimates.
The US , with its well documented
problems with weight, is top of the list. If the rest of the world were to
emulate the Americans, Prof Roberts says, it would have dramatic implications
for the planet.
“Japanese people have a low average BMI but
high standards of living.
“If every country in the world had the same
level of fatness that we see in the USA , in weight terms that would be
like an extra billion people of world average body mass,” he explained.
While countries like Eritrea , Vietnam
and Ethiopia are at the
other end of the scale from the US ,
the researchers argue it is not sufficient to say that being skinny is just a
factor of poverty. The researchers point to a country like Japan which,
according to Professor Roberts, could be a model for others.
“The Japanese example is quite strong.
Average BMI (Body Mass Index) in USA in 2005 was 28.7. In Japan , it was
22. You can be lean without being really poor, and Japan seems to have pulled that
off,” he sttaed.
Kuwait, Croatia, Qatar
and Egypt
are also listed among other countries in the top 10 most weighty.
Prof Roberts said that the high number of
Arab countries is due to the impact of the automobile.
“One of the most important determinants of
average body mass index is motor vehicle gas consumption per capita. So, it is
no surprise to see many of the Arab countries in the list - people eat but they
move very little because they drive everywhere,” he said.
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