The obesity crisis is spreading worldwide. Obesity and related chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer- once deemed the preserve of industrialized nations - are now major health problems in developing countries as well. In 2000, the world’s population reached a milestone when for the first time in recorded history, the number of adults with excess weight surpassed the number of those who are underweight.

According to the World Health Organization, in 2005 400 million people worldwide were clinically obese. By 2015, that number is estimated to surge to 700 million.

In many lower- and middle-income countries, such as Mexico or India, under-nutrition and infectious diseases are being replaced by diseases of over-nutrition — such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Obesity is growing fastest in up-and-coming countries, and almost half of those who die from chronic disease are still in their productive years. Moreover, health disparities are widespread and the consequences are not equally distributed, as death rates for chronic illness are greater in lower-income than higher-income populations.

This growing epidemic is yet another example of a potential pitfall of globalization. For better and worse, international trade, population migration, technological advances, as well as changes in the production, marketing, and availability of consumer goods have brought about continuous and rapid lifestyle changes.

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Are our food options making us sick? According to a new report released today by PolicyLink, the balance of healthy-versus-unhealthy retail food options in your neighborhood is directly tied to your risk for diabetes and obesity.

The groundbreaking study, Designed for Disease: the Link Between Local Food Environments and Obesity and Diabetes, was released jointly with the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the California Center for Public Health Advocacy. It examines the correlation between the health of nearly 40,000 Californians and the mix of retail food outlets near their homes.

The key finding: people living in neighborhoods crowded with fast-food and convenience stores but relatively few grocery or produce outlets are at significantly higher risk of suffering from obesity and diabetes.

The findings are the latest in a growing batch of evidence that the obesity epidemic is at a crisis level. As PolicyLink Vice President of Research Victor Rubin said for the release of the new report:

“Clearly the obesity crisis in California can no longer be seen only as a fight over personal choices. Public policies drive the universe of food options from which we can choose. Families who live in communities with choices limited to high-calorie foods and beverages face substantially greater health risks. Policy makers at the state and local level can save lives by giving Californians healthier food options.”

The results lend even more weight to a recent USA Today lead editorial, which argued that the obesity epidemic is literally killing Americans at a younger and younger age — and disproportionately targeting poor Americans.

Everyone knows how to lose weight: exercise more and eat less, fatty foods in particular. But fast food, eaten on the run and in vast quantities, has too often replaced the leisurely sit-down dinners with healthier foods of years past. Further, obesity is increasing worldwide, and among the poor more than the affluent. Broad social changes underlie the trend, and so it will not be easily reversed. But where it is worst, among the poor, better access to preventive health care plainly is part of the answer.

A century ago, poorer Americans were more likely to have their lives shortened by hunger and malnutrition. It would be a tragic irony if the obesity epidemic has a similarly devastating and unequal impact.

The editorial builds off the stunning findings of this Harvard University report.

For more information on how to help build healthier communities, visit the PolicyLink Center for Health and Place. Also, check out a great blog about this subject from the Grassroots Leadership Network.