Dar es Salaam — THE growing burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) has become one of Tanzania’s most pressing public health challenges, with obesity emerging as a major risk factor behind the rising number of people diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and certain types of cancer. Health experts say changing lifestyles, unhealthy diets rich in…
Obesity – which the World Health Organization classifies as a disease – is not just an individual issue; it is shaped by the systems people live in. Research shows that urbanisation, economic status and food marketing strategies, for example, play a role along with more personal factors. More than 890 million adults were living with…
A pharmacist displays a box of Wegovy pills at a pharmacy in Provo, Utah, Jan. 15, 2026. George Frey | Bloomberg | Getty Images Shares of Novo Nordisk rose more than 8% on Friday after early prescription data showed an encouraging start to the U.S. launch of the company’s new GLP-1 pill for obesity. In…
Nairobi — Health advocates are calling on African governments to leverage new World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines on the use of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) therapies to prevent and treat obesity, warning that failure to act could deepen the continent’s growing non-communicable disease burden. In a statement, senior researcher and Stowelink Foundation founder Stephen Ogweno said…
On 25 September, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (UNIATF) recognized 12 countries and 7 non-State actors pioneering innovative, multisectoral action on obesity. From bold fiscal policies such as sugar taxes to cutting-edge digital tools and nationwide school meal programmes, these…
For the first time in history, obesity has surpassed those underweight as the most common form of malnutrition among school-age children and adolescents worldwide, UNICEF revealed in a new report on Tuesday. One in 10 children aged 5 to 19 – 188 million worldwide – are now living with obesity, placing them at heightened risk…
One in 10 children worldwide living with obesity. Exposure to the marketing of ultra-processed foods found to be widespread NEW YORK, 10 September 2025 – Obesity surpassed underweight as the more prevalent form of malnutrition this year, affecting 1 in 10 – or 188 million – school-aged children and adolescents, and placing them at…
