By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, JAN 05, 2014: AS per the Study of a London-based Institution, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), over one third of all adults across the world – 1.46 billion people – are overweight. Between 1980 and 2008, the numbers of people affected in the developing world more than tripled, from 250 million to 904 million. In high-income countries the numbers increased by 1.7 times over the same period.

The Study notes that with per capital income growing and the purchasing power soaring, diets are also changing in the developing world. There has been a major shift from cereals and tubers to meat, fats and sugar, as well as fruit and vegetables.

As per the Report, while the forces of globalisation have led to a creeping homogenisation in diets, their continued variation suggests that there is still scope for policies that can influence the food choices that people make.

Future diets that are rich in animal products, especially meat, will push up prices for meat, but surprisingly, not for grains. This suggests that future diets may matter more for public health than for agriculture.

The Study points out,“On current trends, globally, we will see a huge increase in the number of people suffering certain types of cancer, diabetes, strokes and heart attacks, putting an enormous burden on public healthcare systems.”

The report underlines that obesity rates have almost doubled in China and Mexico since 1980, and grown by a third in South Africa.

At 70 percent, North America still has the highest percentage of overweight adults.