Much has been written of America’s long struggle with obesity. Unfortunately, the United States’ is far from the only country to struggle with this problem, as obesity is now a worldwide epidemic.

Facts and Figures

711 million – according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine, that’s how many people around the world qualify as obese. The story doesn’t get any better when it comes to percentages; according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 38.2 percent of American adults were obese in 2015, making the US the fattest country on the planet. Listed below are some of the other notable findings found in the study:

• Two countries were found to have the highest amounts of obese adults – the United States and China. Obese children, on the other hand, were most commonplace in China and India.
• From 1980 to 2015, an astounding 73 countries saw their obesity rate double.
• Nearly 108 million children throughout the world can be classified as obese.
• Obesity rates soared in both poor and affluent countries.
• Excess body weight racked up a massive body count in 2015, causing over 4 million deaths.

Searching for Answers

So what’s responsible for these alarming obesity rates? The authors speculate it might involve the increased availability of inexpensive, calorie-
heavy foods. The researchers also contend that aggressive marketing campaigns could be driving sales of such food items.