OBESITY is a global epidemic. So much so that we now call it GLOBESITY. Today, at the Institute of Optimum Nutrition in London, I’ll be joining other experts to discuss how we can tackle this enormous challenge. The facts we’ll be discussing about global obesity will shock you.

Doctors say the UK has the highest rate of child obesity in Western Europe.

In England, most people are either overweight or obese – 61% of adults and 30% of children.

They have a higher risk of getting type 2 diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers and the cost of treating them is over £5billion a year.

In America, 35% of adults and 17% of children are obese. By 2030 it is predicted that 44% of American adults will be obese.

The cost of treating them will rise from 147 billion dollars today to 210 billion dollars.

As I said in my lecture to psychology students from Florida State University this week, global obesity is not just a problem for the West.

The World Health Organisation reports that 12% of the world population is obese. That’s one person in eight.

In China the consumption of sugar and oil has led to a massive expansion of waistlines;

In Brazil global food companies have fundamentally altered traditional diets and obesity is soaring;

In India it’s predicted 100 million people will soon be suffering from diabetes.

In Mexico, the biggest consumer of soft drink in the world, diabetes is already the number one killer.

Mexico has now overtaken the United States as the world’s fattest nation.

The world is getting fatter. Why? What is causing global obesity?

Global obesity is happening because people are eating more of what’s bad for them and doing less of what’s good for them – exercise.

We all know diets don’t work in the long term. If they did, we’d all be thin and healthy. The only way to combat global obesity is to change people’s behaviour by training their brains to eat less, make healthier choices and be more active.

Tell me your views about global obesity…