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2022/11/04 The new WHO European Regional Obesity Report 2022

The new WHO European Regional Obesity Report 2022, published by the WHO Regional Office for Europe, reveals that overweight and obesity rates have reached epidemic proportions across the Europe Region and are still escalating. In the European Region, 59% of adults and almost 1 in 3 children (29% of boys and 27% of girls) are overweight or obese. Overweight and obesity cause more than 1.2 million deaths annually, corresponding to more than 13% of total mortality in the European Region. As a leading risk factor for disability, overweight and obesity causing 7% of total years lived with disability in the European Region.
Obesity is complex, with multifaceted determinants and health consequences, which means that no single intervention can halt the rise of the growing epidemic. To address the growing epidemic, the report recommends a suite of interventions and policy options in the European Region, with an emphasis on building back better after the COVID-19 pandemic. The new WHO report outlines how policy interventions that target environmental and commercial determinants of poor diet at the entire population level are likely to be most effective at reversing the obesity epidemic, addressing dietary inequalities and achieving environmentally sustainable food systems.
*the implementation of fiscal interventions (such as taxation on sugar-sweetened beverages or subsidies for healthy foods);
*restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy foods to children;
*improvement of access to obesity and overweight management
services in primary health care, as part of universal health coverage;
*efforts to improve diet and physical activity across the life course,
including preconception and pregnancy care, promotion of
breastfeeding, school-based interventions, and interventions to create environments that improve the accessibility and affordability of healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity.

https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/WHO-EURO-2022-4764-44527-63040