On Mar. 3, 2025, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation reported that without urgent policy reform and action, over half the world’s adult population (3.8 billion) and a third of all children and adolescents (746 million) are forecast to be living with overweight or obesity by 2050—posing an unparalleled threat of premature disease and death at local, national, and global levels.

Massive global failures in the response to the growing obesity crisis over the past three decades contributed to a startling increase in the number of adults (aged 25 and older) and children and adolescents (aged 5-24 years) with overweight and obesity worldwide, rising from 731 million and 198 million respectively in 1990, to 2.11 billion and 493 million in 2021.

The study predicts a substantial (121%) rise in obesity among young people globally, with the total number of children and adolescents with obesity predicted to reach 360 million by 2050 (an additional 186 million from 2021). The substantial increases in obesity forecast between 2022 and 2030, underscore the urgent need for action.

Importantly, the authors note that more recent generations are gaining weight faster than previous ones and obesity is occurring earlier, increasing the risk of complications such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, and multiple cancers occurring at younger ages.

The authors stress that 5-year action plans (2025-2030) are urgently required to curb the rise in obesity and help inform new goals and targets for the post-2030 Sustainable Development Goal-era. The authors call for more concerted efforts to deliver comprehensive, transdisciplinary interventions tailored to each county’s unique socio-demographic, economic, environmental, and commercial situation.  The study was published in The Lancet.