International Desk: More than half of the world's population will be overweight or obese by 2035 without taking significant action.

Read more: 3 die after drinking alcohol

The World Obesity Federation predicts that 51% of the world will be obese or overweight within the next 12 years.

The report predicts that rates of obesity are rising particularly quickly among children and in lower-income countries.

Read more: Belarus sentences Nobel laureate

Louise Baur, president of the World Obesity Federation, said that policymakers needed to act now to prevent the situation worsening.

"It is particularly worrying to see obesity rates rising fastest among children and adolescents," she said in a statement.

Read more: 2 died in Jatrabari road crash

"Governments and policymakers around the world need to do all they can to avoid passing health, social and economic costs on to the younger generation."

The report ‍also found that childhood obesity could more than double from 2020 levels, to 208 million boys and 175 million girls by 2035.

Sun News/MR