A groundbreaking Lancet Commission study reveals a stark warning about global adolescent health, projecting 464 million adolescents will be overweight or obese by 2030. The research highlights multiple interconnected challenges, including rising mental health disorders, climate change impacts, and significant health disparities across different regions. Today's young generation faces unprecedented health risks, with obesity rates potentially increasing eight-fold in some African and Asian countries over three decades. The study urgently calls for comprehensive political, policy, and financial interventions to protect the health and future of adolescents worldwide.
May 22, 2025
Over 46 cr adolescents globally will be obese by 2030, face many health disorders: Lancet
"The health and well-being of adolescents worldwide is at a tipping
point" - Prof. Sarah Baird, George Washington University
Over 46 cr adolescents globally will be obese by 2030, face many health
disorders: Lancet
The health of adolescents is at a tipping point, with more than 46 crore
adolescents globally estimated to be obese and face several health and mental
disorders by 2030, according to an analysis published by the Lancet Commission
on Wednesday.
Key Points
1 Obesity rates to jump 143
million from 2015 to 2030
2 Mental health disorders
threaten 4.2 crore years of healthy life
3 Climate change poses massive
health risks to younger generations
In the second analysis on adolescent health and well-being since 2016,
the Commission estimates that by 2030, one-third of adolescents in high-income
countries in Latin America, and the Middle East will be overweight,
underscoring the shortcomings in combating adolescent obesity.
The analysis, based on data from the 2021 Global Burden of Disease study,
projects that 46.4 crore (or 464 million) adolescents globally will be overweight
or obese by 2030 -- 143 million more than in 2015.
There will still be over 1 billion of the world's adolescents (aged 10–24
years) living in countries where preventable and treatable health problems like
HIV/AIDS, early pregnancy, unsafe sex, depression, poor nutrition and injury
collectively threaten the health and well-being of adolescents.
Notably, in 2030, 4.2 crore years of healthy life will be lost to mental
disorders or suicide (20 lakh more than in 2015).
"The health and well-being of adolescents worldwide is at a tipping
point, with mixed progress observed over the past three decades,” said
Commission co-chair, Professor Sarah Baird, from George Washington University
in the US.
"While tobacco and alcohol use has declined and participation in
secondary and tertiary education has increased, overweight and obesity have
risen by up to eight-fold in some countries in Africa and Asia over the past
three decades, and there is a growing burden of poor adolescent mental health
globally,” she added.
Further, the Commission also identified several significant new threats
to adolescent health such as climate change and the shift toward a more digital
world.
Today's adolescents are the first generation who will live their entire
lives with the average annual global temperature that has consistently been 0.5
degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels.
And by 2100, 1.9 billion adolescents will live in a world that is
expected to warm to around 2.8 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times,
bringing catastrophic risks to their health such as heat-related illnesses,
reduction in food and water quality and availability, and a rise in mental
health conditions related to climate events.
The projections suggest that, without political will, policy initiatives,
and financial investments, there will still be more than 1 billion adolescents
living in multi-burden countries in 2030.
Baird urged for increasingly "investing in the health and well-being
of young people” to safeguard the “collective future”.
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