Obesity Costing The World Up To $2 Trillion

A new report shows that obesity levels are continuing to soar. Researchers from the McKinsey Global Institute found that close to 30 percent of the world's population, or about 2 billion people worldwide are overweight or obese, costing more than $2 trillion in medical bills and other costs; that's around the same as bills from smoking and armed conflict and even more than alcoholism and climate change, according to officials.

"Obesity is a systemic issue, born of many interlocking factors, and only a systemic response will do," said Richard Dobbs, director of the McKinsey Global Institute, according to the Daily Mail.

The report titled, "How the world could better fight obesity," examined 44 ways to combat the health issue, examining methods that looked at healthy school meals, which encouraged physical activity and increased parental roles in education on health.

It also looked at the importance of governmental systems playing an active role in healthcare systems, food and beverage manufacturers when reducing the issues of overweight or obese people.

Researchers stressed that while drastic measures are not necessary, changes are important to making steps in the right direction.