In a study of 33 years of trends in body mass index (BMI) across 200 countries and territories, the scientists found that people worldwide are getting heavier - with average weight rising by 5kg to 6kg over the period of the study.
LONDON - Global rates of obesity among people who live in the countryside are rising faster than those among city dwellers, in part due to greater access in urban areas to healthier foods and places to exercise, researchers said on Wednesday.
“The results of this massive global study overturn commonly-held perceptions that more people living in cities is the main cause of the global rise in obesity,” said Majid Ezzati, a professor at Imperial College London who co-led the work.The study, published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, analyzed height and weight data from around 112 million adults across urban and rural areas of 200 countries and territories between 1985 and 2017.
The study found that between 1985 to 2017, average rural BMI increased by 2.1 in women and men. In cities, however, the gain was 1.3 and 1.6 in women and men respectively. This may be due to some disadvantages for people living in the countryside, the researchers said, including lower levels of income and education, limited availability and higher costs of healthy foods, and fewer sports facilities.
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