Africa’s obesity problem
For a continent that is usually associated with hunger and malnourishment, it may surprise you to learn that Africa is falling victim to a condition that has typically been a Western concern – obesity. According to the World Health Organization, more than one-third of African women and a quarter of African men are estimated to ...
For a continent that is usually associated with hunger and malnourishment, it may surprise you to learn that Africa is falling victim to a condition that has typically been a Western concern - obesity. According to the World Health Organization, more than one-third of African women and a quarter of African men are estimated to be overweight, and both statistics are set to rise to 41 percent and 30 percent, respectively, over the next decade. South Africa faces the worst problem, with 56 percent of adult women classified as overweight or obese. There is concern that, with impoverished African health services already strained with the task of treating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, weight-related illnesses may prove to be a burden too many. As Michael Birt contends in FP's September/November issue,
...economic growth and development is hastening the arrival of rich-world diseases before poor countries' health systems can prepare."
Also, check out our "Battle of the Bulge" Prime Numbers piece for a closer look at obesity on a global level.
…economic growth and development is hastening the arrival of rich-world diseases before poor countries’ health systems can prepare.”
Also, check out our “Battle of the Bulge” Prime Numbers piece for a closer look at obesity on a global level.
More from Foreign Policy


Is Cold War Inevitable?
A new biography of George Kennan, the father of containment, raises questions about whether the old Cold War—and the emerging one with China—could have been avoided.


So You Want to Buy an Ambassadorship
The United States is the only Western government that routinely rewards mega-donors with top diplomatic posts.


Can China Pull Off Its Charm Offensive?
Why Beijing’s foreign-policy reset will—or won’t—work out.


Turkey’s Problem Isn’t Sweden. It’s the United States.
Erdogan has focused on Stockholm’s stance toward Kurdish exile groups, but Ankara’s real demand is the end of U.S. support for Kurds in Syria.