51% Of People Alive In 2035 Will Be Obese Or Overweight: Report
A new World Obesity Federation report says the economic impact of this situation could hit $4 trillion a year. Separately, a survey finds the bulk of big food brands' products are unhealthy.
Fox News:
More Than Half The World's Population Will Be Obese Or Overweight By 2035, Says New Report
A startling new report may be putting a lot of people on notice. Without significant action to change this trajectory, more than half the world's population will be overweight or obese by 2035, according to a new report. The World Obesity Federation's 2023 atlas is predicting that 51% of the world, or more than 4 billion people, will be obese or overweight within the next 12 years, according to Reuters. (Mackey, 3/2)
Stat:
Report: Obesity Could Cost World $4 Trillion A Year By 2035
The costs of obesity are projected to soar globally, in step with rising prevalence, according to a new report from the World Obesity Federation, the only global group focused solely on tracking obesity and a partner of the World Health Organization. Over half the world’s population will be either overweight or have obesity by 2035, the report projected, while the economic impact of a high BMI could reach $4.32 trillion annually, if current trends continue and policy inertia around the disease remains in place. (Belluz, 3/2)
More on nutrition and eating disorders —
Bloomberg:
Big Food Brands Led By Kraft Heinz Struggling To Kick Junk Addiction: Survey
The bulk of food and drinks sold by four out of five global producers across three major markets are unhealthy, according to a survey, with Kraft Heinz Co. faring the worst. (Afanasieva, 3/3)
Houston Chronicle:
Healthiest Fast Food Cheeseburger? Whataburger Takes Top Spot
A whole bunch of media outlets breathlessly transcribed a fast-food health ranking compiled by a gambling website. The ranking, a top 10 of the healthiest fast food cheeseburgers, put Whatburger at the top of the list followed by In-N-Out and Checker's. Scores were generated by weighing sugar, sodium and fat and calories against the weight of the burger. (Perera, 3/2)
Detroit Free Press:
MSU Research Puts A New Face On Who Is At Risk For Eating Disorders
A new study is adding to myth-busting research about who is most prone to developing an eating disorder. Researchers at Michigan State University found that children living in disadvantaged circumstances are at elevated risk for developing disordered eating, especially if they have underlying genetic risk. (Brookland, 3/3)
In other health and wellness news —
AP:
Baby's Death Tied To Contaminated Breast Pump, CDC Says
Federal health officials are warning parents of newborns to sterilize equipment used for both bottle- and breast-feeding after a baby died last year from a rare infection tied to a contaminated breast pump. The infant, a premature boy, was infected with the bacteria Cronobacter sakazakii, the same germ that sparked a recall and nationwide shortage of powdered infant formula last year, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released Thursday. (Aleccia, 3/2)
USA Today:
Oyster Recall: Salmonella Outbreak In Three States Linked To Shellfish
The Florida Department of Health is warning consumers to check where their oysters came from on the heels of a salmonella outbreak across three southeastern states. Oysters harvested in the small island city of Cedar Key from Dec. 16 through Feb. 24 are associated with the outbreak sickening people in Florida, Georgia and Alabama, the state agency reported Wednesday. As of Thursday, at least eight people had contracted the disease in those three states. (Neysa Alund, 3/2)
Philadelphia Inquirer:
THC Gummies From Montco Tobacco Huts Didn’t Show Fentanyl When Tested In Lab
Three days after the Montgomery County District Attorney stood behind a podium and held up packages of THC gummies that he warned contained heroin and fentanyl, his office said subsequent lab tests did not confirm the presence of illicit drugs in the unregulated THC products. (Gutman and Whelan, 3/2)
KHN:
Guns Are The Biggest Public Health Threat Kids Face. Why Aren’t They Getting The Message?
I still remember the raspy voice of the wizened cancer patient with the hole in her throat. So addicted to the poison that was killing her — cigarettes — she interspersed her words of warning about the dangers of smoking with taking puffs of a cigarette through her tracheostomy hole. It was a short, disturbing public service video shown in my sixth-grade classroom as part of an anti-smoking campaign linked to a U.S. surgeon general’s report, which for the first time officially linked smoking to cancer and heart disease. That night, I flushed my father’s cigarettes down the toilet. The woman’s image haunted my nightmares for years. After seeing that video, I never lighted up. (Rosenthal, 3/3)
NBC News:
Permanent Daylight Saving Time Bill Gets Renewed Push In Congress
Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., has introduced companion legislation in the House. “There are enormous health and economic benefits to making daylight saving time permanent," Buchanan said in a statement. "Florida lawmakers have already voted to make daylight saving time permanent in my home state and Congress should pass the Sunshine Protection Act to move Florida and the rest of the country to year-round daylight saving time.” (Zhao, 3/2)
