The whole world is fat, and getting fatter

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The USA is the world's leader in obesity: we are home to 87 million of the world's 671 million obese people, according to a new report. But obesity is a growing global problem, and the proportion is worse in certain other countries.

USA Today breaks down a study which was published today in the medical journal Lancet, and was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

You can access the full study here, if you're a paying subscriber.

The short version: obesity rates are rising among men, women and children, in rich countries and in poor countries around the world.

From the study abstract:

Because of the established health risks and substantial increases in prevalence, obesity has become a major global health challenge. Not only is obesity increasing, but no national success stories have been reported in the past 33 years. Urgent global action and leadership is needed to help countries to more effectively intervene.