One in five adults in the industrialized world is obese and nearly one in six children is overweight or obese, says a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The report is based on 2015 data. The OECD, composed of three dozen developed nations, says that obesity rates have increased from 2010 and that “projections show a steady increase in obesity rates until at least 2030.”
At that time, the report projects, 47 percent of Americans will be obese, the largest proportion of any OECD nation, along with 39 percent of Mexicans and 37 percent of Britons. Obesity rates vary widely among OECD nations at present, and that disparity would continue. South Korea, for example, has one of the lowest obesity rates in the developed world: slightly more than 5 percent. By 2030, when nearly half of Americans are projected to be obese, only 9 percent of Koreans are expected to be.
“Obese people have poorer job prospects compared to normal weight people, they are less likely to be employed, and have more difficulty re-entering the labor market,” says the report. They are more likely to be ill, and earn about 10 percent less than their non-obese counterparts.
Over the past few years, OECD countries have used a broad spectrum of policies to encourage healthier diets. They include taxes on foods and drinks high in salt, fat, or sugar; calorie labels on foods in grocery stores and in restaurants; public education campaigns, including the use of social media; and regulations on junk-food advertising aimed at children.