Public health and moral panic : sociological perspectives on the 'epidemic of obesity'

In 2007, the number of people worldwide who were chronically underfed reached 923 million, some 75 million more than in 2003-2005 (FAO, 2008). By contrast, in 1999, over 1 billion adults and approximately 18 million children were overweight or obese (WHO, 2000). Neither rising food prices, nor rising food insecurity among the world's poor - especially landless and female-headed households (FAO, 2008) - appear to be slowing the spread of weight gain and obesity, a trend that has been associated, in particular, with populations undergoing socio-economic transformations associated with urbanization, modernization and globalization (WHO, 2000).