One in three teenagers in the Middle East to be overweight in five years

By 2030, one in three teenagers in the Middle East and in high-income countries is expected to be obese.

The second Lancet Commission on adolescent health and well-being warned that the health of adolescents worldwide is at a tipping point and action is needed to tackle the rising threats.

The commission estimated 464 million adolescents globally will be overweight or obese within five years, 143 million more than in 2015. It said this would underline “the shortcomings in combating adolescent obesity”.

Research earlier this year led to a forecast that the Middle East and North Africa would be the centre of the world's youth obesity crisis by 2050, at which point more than half of the region's children and young people will be overweight.

Scientists expect the Middle East will overtake North America as the most out-of-shape region if "startling" trends in weight gain over the past 30 years continue.

A progression has been seen over the past four decades. A World Health Organisation report in 2018 found nine Middle Eastern countries ranked highest in the obesity statistics for adults and rates had trebled since 1975, with Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia the highest.

A separate study found social media use was linked to a rise in depression among teenagers.

The research team at UC San Francisco examined data following nearly 12,000 children aged nine and 10 years and then three years later at 12 and 13.

On average, children’s social media use rose from seven to 73 minutes a day over the three years of the study and their depressive symptoms increased 35 per cent.

“There has been ongoing debate about whether social media contributes to depression or simply reflects underlying depressive symptoms,” said Jason Nagata, associate professor in UCSF’s Department of Paediatrics. “These findings provide evidence that social media may be contributing to the development of depressive symptoms.”

Action needed

The new Lancet analysis indicates that without targeted action by 2030 at least half of the world’s adolescents (more than one billion) would still live in countries where they are at risk of experiencing poor health across many indicators, including mental health and being overweight.

It said over the past decade, progress in adolescent health and well-being has been “mixed and uneven”.

“While global rates of smoking and alcohol use have declined and educational participation – especially among young women – has increased, obesity-related diseases and mental health disorders are rising in all regions,” it said.

It also highlighted that today’s adolescents are the first generation “to grow up under harsher climate conditions and the pervasive presence of digital technology” and therefore disproportionately face emerging global health threats.

Adolescents in low and middle-income countries represent more than a quarter of the population and bear a disproportionate share of the global disease burden (9.1 per cent), yet receive only 2.4 per cent of global development aid, it was warned.

Prof Sarah Baird, of George Washington University in the US and co-chairwoman of the commission, said: “The health and well-being of adolescents worldwide is at a tipping point, with mixed progress observed over the past three decades.

"Whilst tobacco and alcohol use has declined and participation in secondary and tertiary education has increased, overweight and obesity have risen by up to eightfold in some countries in Africa and Asia over the past three decades, and there is a growing burden of poor adolescent mental health globally.

"Additionally, the challenges faced by the world’s adolescents are at risk of being exacerbated by emerging global issues including climate change, world conflicts and a rapid transition to a more digital world.

“Investing in the health and well-being of young people is crucial for safeguarding our collective future. We must prioritise investment in adolescent health and well-being through initiatives including those that strengthen schools to promote health and well-being and to ensure universal access to health care for adolescents.

"Furthermore, adolescent engagement and activism must be central to creating the social and community changes we need to foster a more just society and create a healthier planet with more opportunities for everyone.”