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Cited by 305Obesity, Physical Activity, DietGlobal Public Health Policies and EpidemiologyEconomics of Agriculture and Food Markets

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 30 of the 30 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Increased food energy supply as a major driver of the obesity epidemic: a global analysis

Open access
Vandevijvere, Stefanie, Chow, Carson C, Hall, Kevin D, Umali, Elaine, Swinburn, Boyd A·2015·Bulletin of the World Health Organization
DOI 10.2471/blt.14.150565PMC PMC4490816
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: We investigated associations between changes in national food energy supply and in average population body weight. METHODS: We collected data from 24 high-, 27 middle- and 18 low-income countries on the average measured body weight from global databases, national health and nutrition survey reports and peer-reviewed papers. Changes in average body weight were derived from study pairs that were at least four years apart (various years, 1971-2010). Selected study pairs were considered to be representative of an adolescent or adult population, at national or subnational scale. Food energy supply data were retrieved from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations food balance sheets. We estimated the population energy requirements at survey time points using Institute of Medicine equations. Finally, we estimated the change in energy intake that could theoretically account for the observed change in average body weight using an experimentally-validated model. FINDINGS: In 56 countries, an increase in food energy supply was associated with an increase in average body weight. In 45 countries, the increase in food energy supply was higher than the model-predicted increase in energy intake. The association between change in food energy supply and change in body weight was statistically significant overall and for high-income countries (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that increases in food energy supply are sufficient to explain increases in average population body weight, especially in high-income countries. Policy efforts are needed to improve the healthiness of food systems and environments to reduce global obesity.

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Fig. 1 Change in food energy supply and change in average body weight for 69 countries, 1971–2010
Fig. 1 Change in food energy supply and change in average body weight for 69 countries, 1971–2010CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 2 Change in food energy supply and change in average body weight for 24 high-income countries, 1971–2009
Fig. 2 Change in food energy supply and change in average body weight for 24 high-income countries, 1971–2009CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 3 Change in food energy supply and change in average body weight for 15 upper-middle-income countries, 1980–2009
Fig. 3 Change in food energy supply and change in average body weight for 15 upper-middle-income countries, 1980–2009CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 4 Change in food energy supply and change in average body weight for 12 lower-middle-income countries, 1983–2009
Fig. 4 Change in food energy supply and change in average body weight for 12 lower-middle-income countries, 1983–2009CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 5 Change in food energy supply and change in average body weight for 18 low-income countries, 1983–2009
Fig. 5 Change in food energy supply and change in average body weight for 18 low-income countries, 1983–2009CC BY · PubMed Central

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  1. 2013, Global action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases 2013-2020.

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Metadata

Authors
Vandevijvere, S., Chow, C. C., Hall, K. D., Umali, E., & Swinburn, B. A.
Affiliations
  • University of Auckland (NZ)
  • National Institutes of Health (US)
Corresponding author
Vandevijvere, Stefanie
ORCID
Venue
Bulletin of the World Health Organization
Publisher
WHO Press
Published
2015-07-01
Volume
93
Issue
7
Pages
446-456
ISSN
0042-9686 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.2471/blt.14.150565
PMC
PMC4490816
OpenAlex
W1579033090
Cited by
305
References
30
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 25 · 2022: 34 · 2021: 34 · 2020: 34 · 2019: 40 · 2018: 44 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 8
FWCI
35.39
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Bulletin of the World Health Organization (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (acceptedVersion)
  • Figshare (acceptedVersion)
  • Deakin Research Online (Deakin University) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Economics of Agriculture and Food Markets
Keywords
obesity epidemic, average body weight, energy intake, food balance sheets, energy requirements, high-income countries, global obesity trends
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Body Weight, Energy Intake, Female, Food Supply, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Nutrition Surveys, Obesity, Global Health, Young Adult

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