Study: A third of world’s people now fat

Almost one third of the world is now fat, and no country has been able to curb obesity rates in the last three decades, according to a new global analysis.

Researchers found more than 2bn people worldwide are overweight or obese. The highest rates were in the Middle East and North Africa, where nearly 60% of men and 65% of women are heavy. The US has about 13% of the world’s fat population, a higher percentage than any other country. China and India combined have about 15%, despite having about a third of the world’s total population.

The research found Ireland’s obesity rate was significantly ahead of similar countries — 66% of Irish men and 50.9% of Irish women over 20 years are overweight or obese, compared to less than 48% across western Europe.