One of our Top 10 Trends for 2019, “Ready to Explode” is getting bigger.
According to a study published in The Lancet earlier this year, over two billion people – nearly 30 percent of the world’s population – are either obese or overweight. The study analyzed trending data from 188 countries.
The highest percentage of obese people are in countries with the most modern economies. Congratulations USA: We are the World’s Heavyweight Champ. We’re #1!
More than just a heavy health cost on grossly overweight individuals, the excess weight is also taking a toll on the global economy.
The report, “America’s Obesity Crisis: The Health and Economic Impact of Excess Weight,” produced by the Milkin Institute, includes data showing that the impact of obesity and overweight on the U.S. economy is more than $1.7 trillion, which equals 9.3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development concludes the number of overweight adults reduces GDP by an average of 3.3 percent globally, with modern economies spending over 8 percent of total health budgets on obesity issues. The U.S. has the highest rate at 14 percent.
More than one in three adults in Mexico and New Zealand are very overweight and more than one in four in Australia, Canada, Chile, and Hungary.
The McKinsey Global Institute reports that the economic impact of obesity amounts to $2 trillion annually, which works out to about 2.8 percent of the global GDP.
The epidemic has been traced to lower productivity, which is costing employers an additional $506 per worker annually, as a result of increased levels of medical claims and sick days.
The report shows that people with a body mass index of 40 or more will probably earn about 5 percent less than workers who maintain a more normal weight.
The OECD report concludes that overweight adult workers have higher absentee rates and are less productive when showing up on the job.
Hugh Waters, director of health economics research at the Milken Institute, has stated that “Despite the billions of dollars spent each year on public health programs and consumer weight-loss products, the situation isn’t improving,” and that “a new approach is needed.”
TREND FORECAST: The heavy media hype of millennials and Gen Z going healthy and eating “clean foods” (a trend coined by Gerald Celente in the 1993 Trends Journal) is unsubstantiated by the numbers.
Yes, there will be a continuing growing market in sectors such as organic, plant-based, and juicing, however, it will account for but a small percentage of the total population’s addiction to junk/fast/low-quality food.
For OnTrendpreneurs®, a huge market exists for new, innovative weight loss/fitness products and programs.