Obesity is not just a rich country problem. For several years, obesity rates have been rising faster in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries, in both urban and rural areas. This is according to a report by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), posted Wednesday July 19 on the occasion of the United Nations summit on food systems which is being held from 24 to 26 July in Rome.
Through the study of five countries – Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria, Bolivia and Zambia – IFAD thus warns of the predominant issue of this public health issue throughout the world. Defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30, obesity has increased in these countries from around 15% in 1992 to 44% in 2015 in rural areas, while obesity rates in the urban population increased from 36% to 51%, according to a study published in 2020.
The authors of the report thus observe a gradual increase in obesity in the five countries studied, even though the daily caloric intake per person has stagnated there since 2010. “This suggests that other factors are at play, such as changing lifestyles and changing dietary habits”, explain the authors. Among low-income countries like Egypt and Bolivia, economic growth is associated with increases in BMI, while in high-income countries it is correlated with lower BMI. Indonesia, as a middle-income country, could be at a tipping point.
Healthy foods and bad foods
How can these reversed trends be explained? The authors point to the fact that the gap between the price of healthy foods, which are usually more expensive, and that of unhealthy foods is greater in developing countries than in developed countries. Based on a study published in 2019, the report shows that in poor countries, a calorie in an egg costs 11.66 times more than a calorie in a starch – which is used here as a reference value –, while a calorie in a sugary snack costs only 2.92 times more. In comparison, in rich countries, this gap is much smaller, respectively 2.6 and 1.43 times more expensive.
“In African countries like Kenya and Cameroon, consumers spend on average more than 40% of their income on foodunderlines Joyce Njoro, technical specialist in nutrition at IFAD. Due to the volatility of food prices, in some months this percentage reaches more than 60% to 80%. This ultimately means that a 1% change in food prices affects consumers in developing countries more drastically than consumers in developed countries. »
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