Obesity Costs Morocco 2,8 % of GDP: Report

Rabat – A new report by the Mckinsey Global  institute (MGI) suggests  that obesity is one of the major social burdens in Morocco, costing the country 2, 8 percent of GDP the same as other emerging markets like South Africa and Brazil. 

The report found that the other major social burdens facing the kingdom are armed violence, war, and terrorism, climate change, and smoking.

Globally, the economic impact of obesity amounts to roughly $2 trillion dollars annually, or 2.8 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP).

The report says the global impact of obesity is equivalent to those of smoking or of armed violence, war, and terrorism.

“Obesity isn’t just a health issue,” highlights Richard Dobbs, one of the report’s authors. “But it’s a major economic and business challenge.”

MGI’s report “Overcoming obesity: An initial economic analysis”, says that more than 2.1 billion people, nearly 30 percent of the global population, are either overweight or obese, adding that obesity is responsible for about 5 percent of all deaths a year worldwide.

Ironically, the report added that these figures are almost two and a half times the number of adults and children who are undernourished, saying that if the prevalence of obesity continues on its current trajectory, almost half of the world’s adult population will be overweight or obese by 2030.

In developed economies, the toll of obesity on health-care systems alone is between 2 and 7 percent of all health-care spending. That does not include the large cost of treating associated diseases, which takes the health-care toll up to 20 percent, stressed the report.

The report recommends 16 measures to help lower obesity rates such as portion control, parental education, 10% tax on high-sugar high-fat products, active transport, and changing marketing practices.