According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, 1.4 billion people are overweight -- half a billion are obese -- and America is at the top of the list of the most obese developed nation in the world -- 31.8 percent of its population and rising. That means almost 1 in every 3 people in the United States is classified as obese.
That number is expected to grow to 42 percent by 2030.
What's driving our expanding waistlines, which eats away at $147 billion annually in medical costs? For starters, only 24 percent of American adults eat the recommended 5 servings of produce daily.
The issue, Michelle Obama argues, starts at a young age, with her most recent push focusing on food marketing and its impact on shaping the eating behaviors of children.
“Whatever we all might believe about personal responsibility and self-determination, I think we can all agree that it doesn’t apply to children,” Michelle Obama told food company executives in a meeting on the topic earlier this week.
While obesity rates among low-income preschoolers has decreased in 19 states since the first lady's push for healthy living between 2008 and 2011, it is still a widespread problem in not only America, but worldwide.
HealthcareColleges has compiled the below infographic charting obesity trends worldwide.
With obesity levels in American expected to rise, what role, if any, do you think the government should take in combatting obesity and promoting healthy solutions?
