Skopje, 4 March 2024 (MIA) — Obesity among adults and children in North Macedonia is at a steady high level, according to the Public Health Institute in a report released on World Obesity Day, March 4.

According to the PHI citing a recent Lancet study, "as of 2022, more than 1 billion people in the world are now living with obesity."

"Worldwide, obesity among adults has more than doubled since 1990, and has quadrupled among children and adolescents (5 to 19 years of age)," the report says.

"In North Macedonia, 28.4 percent of adults live with obesity. In our country, obesity in adults has increased by 13.6 percent, and in children and adolescents by 7.4 percent compared to 1990," the report notes.

For over 10 years, the PHI and local Centers for Public Health have provided nationally representative data for the WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI), implemented in 45 countries in Europe.

COSI is a survey based on standardized weight and height measurements. It also collects information on school environments and dietary and physical activity habits.

"The latest data show that 30.5 percent of children six to nine years of age in our country live with increased body weight or obesity, and 13.8 percent of them live with obesity or extreme obesity. Obesity is more common in boys than in girls," the report says.

According to PHI data, most of the children living with obesity live in urban areas and a significant factor contributing to their obesity is a diet of highly processed, high-calorie food.

"The socioeconomic background of the children's families and the availability of food in and around their school environment influence the children's eating habits," the report says.

"Physical inactivity among children due to fewer safe living environments that promote active play leads to less movement and use of electronic devices as key determinants of obesity," the report adds.

"Increasing body weight and obesity trends in children in our country are at a steady high level," the national public health agency says.

It adds that the obesity pandemic requires a national response based on "a comprehensive and multisectoral approach to obesity, from prioritizing environmental factors that influence obesity to strengthening health care for the prevention and control of obesity as a chronic disease." mr/