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Morning Briefing

Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

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Tuesday, Jun 13 2017

Full Issue

10% Of World's Population Is Now Obese. In U.S., That Rate Rises To 26.5%.

Combining children and adults, the United States reported the largest increase in percentile points of any country, a jump of 16 percentage points.

The New York Times: More Than 10 Percent Of World’s Population Is Obese, Study Finds

More than 10 percent of the world’s population is now obese, a marked rise over the last 30 years that is leading to widespread health problems and millions of premature deaths, according to a new study, the most comprehensive research done on the subject. Published Monday in The New England Journal of Medicine, the study showed that the problem had swept the globe, including regions that have historically had food shortages, like Africa. (Richtel, 6/12)

USA Today: 2 Billion People Are Overweight Or Obese Globally, Study Says.

The findings represent "a growing and disturbing global public health crisis," said the authors of the paper, which was published Monday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Among the 20 most-populous countries, the highest level of obesity among children and young adults was in the U.S., at nearly 13%. Egypt topped the list for adult obesity at about 35%, while the lowest rates were in Bangladesh and Vietnam, respectively, at 1%. (Rice, 6/12)

This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
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