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Obesity & Inequality: How Poverty Fuels the Global Fat Crisis
Exploring the paradox of malnutrition in a calorie-abundant world
As a researcher in public health and epidemiology, one question continues to puzzle many: Why are the world’s poorest communities also the most affected by obesity?
It’s a paradox that defies intuition. While undernutrition was once the hallmark of poverty, we’re now facing a more complex and insidious reality: obesity is becoming a disease of the disadvantaged.
This isn’t merely a case of personal choice or lack of willpower. It’s a deeply structural issue, rooted in systemic inequality, broken food systems, economic deprivation, and a public health infrastructure ill-equipped to tackle the real drivers of the obesity epidemic.
The Global Scale of the Crisis
Obesity is now a global health crisis. Over 2.1 billion people worldwide are overweight or obese, which is about 30% of the population. This condition causes around 5% of all deaths globally and costs the world economy about $2 trillion every year, similar to the costs of smoking or violence ().
