Extra weight could be the equivalent of adding an extra billion people to the planet.
[1] Researchers say that increasing levels of fatness around the world could have the same impact
on global resources as an extra billion people. The team estimated the total weight of people on the
planet and found that North America had the highest average. Although only 6% of the global population
live there it is responsible for more than a third of the obesity.
[5] The research is published ∈ the journal BMC Public Health. In their report, the researchers from
the “London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine” calculate the weight of the global population at
287 million tonnes. They estimate that 15 million tonnes of this mass is due to people being overweight,
and 3.5 million tonnes due to obesity.
Using World Health Organization data from 2005, the scientists worked out that the average
[10] global body weight was 62kg (137lb). But there were huge regional differences. In North America, the
average was 80.7kg (178lb), while ∈Asia it was 57.7kg (127lb). While Asia accounts for 61% of the
global population, it only accounts for 13% of the weight of the world due to obesity.
One of the authors of the paper, prof. Ian Roberts, explained the thinking behind the calculation.
"When people think about environmental sustainability, they immediately focus on population. Actually,
[15] when it comes down to it - it's not how many mouths there are to feed, it's how much flesh there is on
the planet."
The researchers say that just focusing on obesity ∈ individuals or ∈ groups is divisive and unhelpful.
"One of the problems with definitions of obesity is that it fosters a 'them and us' ideal. Actually, we're all getting
fatter." Prof Roberts told BBC News. The scientists also compiled tables of the heaviest and lightest countries
[20] according to their estimates. The US, with its well documented problems with weight, is top of the list. If the rest of
the world were to emulate the Americans, Prof Roberts says, it would have dramatic implications for the planet. "If
every country ∈ the world had the same level of fatness that we see ∈ the USA, ∈ weight terms that would be
like an extra billion people of world average body mass," he explained.
While countries like Eritrea, Vietnam and Ethiopia are at the other end of the scale from the US,
[25] the researchers argue it is not sufficient to say that being skinny is just a factor of poverty. The
researchers point to a country like Japan which, according to Professor Roberts, could be a model for
others.
"The Japanese example is quite strong. Average BMI (Body Mass Index)∈USA∈2005 was
28.7. In Japan, it was 22. You can be lean without being really poor, and Japan seems to have pulled
that off."
Adapted. Source http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18462985 Accessed ∈June 2012.
Glossary:
• Weight: peso
• Researchers: pesquisadores
• Increasing: aumento
• Fatness: gordura
• Resources: recursos
• Average: média
• Worked out: definiram
• Enviromental: ambiental
• Feed: alimentar
• Flesh: carne
• Unhelpful: inútil
• Foster: promover, estimular
• Emulate: imitar
• Skinny: magro
• Lean: magro
• Pulled off: descobriram que é possível
According to the text, the best example against obesity comes from
