More than half the world’s population will be overweight by 2035: study

A new report from the World Obesity Federation finds that unless immediate action is taken to combat the problem, more than half the world's population will be overweight by 2035.

Most alarming is the data surrounding childhood obesity, which is predicted to double from 2020 levels.

"Obesity as a whole is something that's going to have some pretty significant ramifications for our health-care system as we go along here, so it's something that we need to address now”, said Ian Patton of Obesity Canada.

In the Maritimes, health-care professionals see the problem first-hand.

Dr. Margaret Fraser, an emergency and family physician in Sydney, N.S., says in recent years, she's seen the trends from childhood obesity lead to problems early in adulthood.

"In emergency, we're seeing patients in their 20s presenting with type II diabetes”, Fraser said. “Which was previously seen as a health problem that largely affected people over the age of 40."

Then, there's the mental health component.

Dr. Michael Vallis, a health psychologist and associate professor at Dalhousie University, said it can be difficult to focus on healthy lifestyle choices when a person is dealing with a serious mental health issue.

“The question we ought to ask people is, ‘What is your relationship with food?’” Vallis said. “The stories we hear are much more related to food environments, life stresses, mental health issues, medications -- are all associated with weight gains in many cases."

Fraser said, in many cases, individuals are not to blame.

From job demands to the cost of food and socioeconomic disadvantages faced by those who live at or near poverty, she feels the way western society is set up is a big part of the problem.

"I think we're very much setting people up to fail,” Fraser said. "We've developed a high-paced lifestyle where we're eating a lot of convenience foods, a lot of prepared foods. Those unfortunately do tend to be high in calories and lower in nutrients."

As for what can be done about the problem, Vallis says for starters, he would like to see changes in thinking when it comes to stigma and body image satisfaction.

"Weight management is moreso about health gains, rather than about weight loss,” Vallis said. “So we're trying to preserve self-esteem, help people find ways of coping so they can maintain good mental health as they develop better relationships with food."

The report also finds that in 12 years, obesity-related health issues could cost upwards of $4 trillion per year.