Approximately one in every five persons in Türkiye suffers from obesity, an alarmingly increasing global public health issue, a new report published by the country's statistical institute on Thursday suggested.
The health report dubbed "2022 Türkiye Health Research" shared by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) pointed out that 20.2% of the population was considered obese from a medical standpoint, portraying a slight decline trend, as the same report showed that 21.1% of the population had the same health issue in 2019.
The data was collected after calculating the body mass index (BMI) with height and weight considerations of adults aged 15 years and older residing in Türkiye.
The TurkStat report also revealed that 23.9% of women in Türkiye had developed obesity, while 30.9% were identified as pre-obese.
This obesity rate was observed to a lesser extent among the male population, with 16.8% being obese, yet a higher number of Turkish men, some 40.4%, were found to be facing a higher risk of future obesity.
The "World Obesity Atlas" published for the fourth time in 2022 under the World Obesity Federation predicts that one in five women and one in seven men will be obese, equating to over 1 billion people globally by 2030.
Addressing obesity concerns globally became even more critical in the last years, as the COVID-19 pandemic lead to a more sedentary lifestyle that included less physical activity, which is one of the factors directly linked to obesity.
To cope with the issue, in the last few years, the Turkish Health Ministry implemented a physical activity action plan within the scope of a program named "Nutrition and Active Life Program 2019-2023." In addition, it has also prepared the "Türkiye Physical Activity Guide" and "Adult, Child and Adolescent Physical Activity Guidelines for Chronic Diseases."
Obesity as a health problem can lead to the emergence of severe side effects, including heart ailments, strokes and diabetes. According to health experts, excess weight diminishes almost every aspect of health, from reproductive and respiratory function to memory and mood.