Obesity is going to rise exponentially with more than 1.5
billion of them suffering from the condition by 2050. According to a study published by the Potsdam Institute for
Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Germany, more than four billion people could
be overweight by 2050, and about 1.5 billion of them would be obese.

The study took into account the food consuming and producing
patterns and concluded that by the year 2050, the planet would be under immense
pressure of feeding a much larger population, which would contain more obese
and overweight people.

“The increasing wastage of food and the rising
consumption of animal protein mean that the environmental impact of our
agricultural system will spiral out of control,” said Benjamin Bodirsky,
lead author of the study published in Nature Scientific as quoted in
France24 website.

“Whether greenhouse gasses, nitrogen pollution or
deforestation: we are pushing the limits of our planet — and exceeding
them,” he said.

According to the paper, 16% of world’s population will be obese by 2050, and 45 % of them overweight— the numbers
at present are at 9% and 29%.

“There is enough food in the world — the problem is
that the poorest people on our planet have simply not the income to purchase
it,” said co-author Prajal Pradhan, adding “and in rich countries, people don’t feel the economic
and environmental consequences of wasting food.”

The researchers studied the period since 1965 and
extrapolated the results till 2100. In their research, the authors factored in
such variables as population growth, ageing, growing body masses, declining
physical activity and increased food waste.