An insight into World Obesity Day from Beneo
Credit: Beneo
Already, more than one billion people are living with obesity and predictions show that by 2030, nearly three billion adults, about half of the adult population, will be overweight or obese. Highlighting the scale of the problem is the focus for this year’s World Obesity Day theme, taking place on 4 March, which centres on “8 billion reasons to act on obesity.”
Childhood obesity is also rising, which is of particular concern given that excess weight in early life frequently persists into adulthood. With being overweight and obese both major risk factors for non-communicable diseases, including type-2 diabetes and heart disease, this is putting global health systems under increasing pressure. Therefore, prioritising prevention from the earliest years, and throughout all stages of life, has never been more important, according to Karel Thurman, portfolio director at Beneo (pictured above).
While this is far beyond the remit of any one industry to solve on their own, the food industry has a pivotal role to play. Ingredients suppliers, along with manufacturers, have a shared responsibility to help consumers manage their weight sustainably by creating new food and drink concepts that make behavioural changes easier for consumers, Thurman notes.
The GLP-1 momentum is reshaping the food and beverage industry, and manufacturers are increasingly exploring opportunities to position themselves in this market with value-added products. While the first generation of weight loss supporting products was focused on short-term calorie reduction, this is now evolving towards formulations that support long-term weight management.
Although GLP-1 therapies might be here to stay, many consumers continue to pursue weight management through natural approaches that may lead to more gradual weight loss but are considered more balanced. Either way, the need for high quality diets remains essential, and functional ingredients have a crucial role to play. Today, losing or maintaining weight is just one piece of the puzzle within a broader approach to living healthily, including fostering a healthy gut, contributing to metabolic and mental health or supporting good sleep.
Providing additional benefits for each stage of the weight loss journey will be key to addressing the global issue of obesity. There is huge potential for manufacturers to reformulate or develop new concepts that support consumers in this regard by creating nutrient-dense foods that deliver improved nutritional profiles. Whether that’s products enriched with prebiotic fibre, plant-based proteins or low-glycaemic carbohydrates, there’s now a variety of ingredients within the weight management toolbox.
One thing is clear; consumer education is paramount in tackling the issue of obesity and highlighting the important role of healthy diets. This is particularly important to avoid the misunderstanding that weight loss drugs are an easy solution – especially given weight regain after discontinuation is a major risk if eating habits are not adapted.
With such stark predictions on the number of people set to be suffering from obesity in the years to come, now is the time to act. We as an industry are equipped with both the knowledge, expertise and solutions to help tackle this issue head on, and to protect the future of our population, and our global health systems. This is a shared responsibility we mustn’t shy away from.
