Obesity identified as global epidemic: WHO
By Ali Imran

ISLAMABAD—The WHO says more than 1 billion adults around the world are overweight and 300 million of them are obese, making the problem a global epidemic. The number of underweight people is estimated at around 800 million.
The warning came as more than 2,500 experts and health officials gathered in Sydney on Sunday for the International Congress on Obesity Professor Paul Zimmet, a diabetes expert who is chairman of the meeting, said: "Obesity is now recognised by the World Health Organisation as an insidious killer and the major contributing cause of preventable diseases such as diabetes and heart disease."
"There are now more overweight people in the world than undernourished and obesity is the single largest contributor to chronic disease", the organisers said in a statement.
Overweight people are at much higher risk of diseases such as diabetes, heart problems, high blood pressure, stroke and some forms of cancer.
The main cause is people eating more fatty and sugary foods, and doing less exercise, the WHO said.