
More than six in ten Brazilians are now overweight and obesity affects roughly one in four adults, according to official health data released this week and carried by Agência Brasil. The survey estimates that 62.6% of the population had excess weight in 2024, up from 42.6% in 2006, while obesity (BMI ≥ 30) doubled from 11.8% to 25.7% over the same period.

A third of the world's nearly 700 million children under five years old are undernourished or overweight and face lifelong health problems as a consequence, according to a grim UN assessment of childhood nutrition released on Tuesday.

British overweight teenagers in South Yorkshire could be fitted with gastric balloons, if a trial is approved. Sheffield Children's Hospital said it wanted to use the balloons to help 10 morbidly obese 13 to 18-year-olds lose weight. Those weighing between 14 and 20 stone (89kg-127kg) will be considered.

A recent international study found that Chile is among the three most overweight countries in South America and that Chile’s women have the second highest body mass index (BMI) on the continent. Chile’s men have the third highest.