Global Obesity Rates Rising Fast!

“The global diabetes rate has risen by nearly half over the past two decades, according to a new study, as obesity and the health problems it spawns have taken hold across the developing world” (New York Times, June 8 2015). “The [Lancet] study... reported a 45 percent rise in the prevalence of diabetes worldwide from 1990 to 2013. Nearly all the rise was in Type 2, which is usually related to obesity...” (ibid.).

“A major shift is underway in the developing world, in which deaths from communicable diseases like malaria and tuberculosis have declined sharply, and chronic diseases like cancer and diabetes are on the rise. The pattern is linked to economic improvement and more people living longer... China helped drive the rise in the global toll of diabetes. The... disease there increased by about 56 percent over the period of the study... In the United States, the rate increased by 71 percent, and in Saudi Arabia by 60 percent. In Mexico it rose by 52 percent” (ibid.).

Scripture actually contains health laws designed to prevent disease. Refer to Proverbs 25:16, 27 and Leviticus 7:23-24, precluding or limiting the consumption of foods related to the rise in obesity and diabetes. That is why God promised the ancient Israelites that if they would follow His commandments and statutes, “I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians” (Exodus 15:26; 23:25), which include cancer, heart disease and diabetes. As more people of the world adopt the gluttonous lifestyles of Western nations, they begin to experience the same diseases. For more information on this topic, read “Bible Principles of Health” in our Tomorrow’s World magazine.