The causes of obesity are more complex than just an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise, according to the report. For example, it read that “environmental factors unique to life in Europe’s highly digitized societies are also the cause of obesity”, as is the marketing of unhealthy food to children.
The pandemic is also said to have left its mark on rising obesity rates among children and adolescents. This can be explained by a lack of exercise and dietary changes during the lockdown.
Moreover, no country in Europe is well on its way to meeting the WHO target of ending the disease by 2025. So a lot of work is still needed to tackle obesity and overweight. The WHO therefore calls on the authorities to make extra efforts to combat overweight and obesity in their health policy.