Childhood Obesity Incidence Increasing Rapidly Worldwide; Governments Must Take Action, WHO Commission Report Says

News outlets highlight findings from the final report of the WHO Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity (ECHO).

Deutsche Welle: WHO report warns child obesity is ‘exploding nightmare’
“The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday that, across the globe, at least 41 million children under the age of five are obese or overweight…” (1/25).

Fortune: Child Obesity Is Now A Global Crisis
“…The total number of obese young children in countries in Asia and Africa now outnumber those in wealthier nations like the U.S., and those numbers are growing rapidly, according to a new report from the Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity…” (Lorenzetti, 1/25).

Quartz: Big Soda now has a planet-sized problem on its hands
“The public health arm of the United Nations is recommending that countries consider taxing junk foods — especially sugary drinks — in an effort to curb the growth of childhood obesity worldwide. That’s bad news for the soda industry, which has fought vigorously against such levies…” (Purdy, 1/26).

Thomson Reuters Foundation: Number of obese and overweight children under five ‘alarming,’ WHO says
“…In developing countries, the number of overweight children more than doubled to 15.5 million in 2014 from 7.5 million in 1990, driven by globalization and urbanization, a report by the WHO Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity (ECHO) said…” (Mis, 1/25).

U.N. News Centre: Governments must act to reverse alarming rise in childhood obesity, U.N. report warns
“… ‘Increased political commitment is needed to tackle the global challenge of childhood overweight and obesity,’ said Peter Gluckman, co-chair of ECHO, which presented its report to U.N. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan [on Monday]…” (1/25).

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