Obesity Epidemic Not Just A Western Phenomenon

A British think tank reports that more than a third of adults globally were overweight or obese in 2008, a 23 percent increase from 1980. Adults in the developing world did not escape the phenomenon, of course: over the last 30 years, obese adults in these countries quadrupled to 904 million, more than are found in the developed countries. But the surprise is how the trend has invaded emerging economies. According to the Overseas Development Institute, the increase in  obesity is associated with a "creeping homogenization" of diets globally, thanks to rising incomes, the impact of advertising and globalization.