, Columnist
Obesity Is Stalking Poor Countries Where Hunger Once Reigned
Low-cost calories are at the heart of the next big health crisis. And we have no systems in place to deal with the fallout.
A worrying trend.
Photographer: Hasan Shaaban/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
You might not notice it from the way that inflation, conflict and pandemic have driven up the cost of food in recent years, but the specter of hunger that has haunted humanity for millennia is moving closer to being vanquished.
In middle-income countries, the number of people undernourished fell by roughly a quarter, or 162 million, between 2006 and 2020. That’s more than enough to offset the 43 million increase in low-income nations, which are mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.