A team of scientists estimated for the first time the total human biomass of the adult population of the planet, its distribution by region and the proportion of biomass due to overweight and obesity, aiming at assessing the environmental implications of population growth.
According to the study results, global adult human biomass was approximately 287 million tonnes in 2005, but this number has inevitably risen by now with the global population exceeding some 7 billion people. Estimates showed that human population is overweight by 17 tonnes, a figure which equals the weight of 170 aircraft carriers.
North America has 6% of the world population but 34% of biomass due to obesity. Asia has 61% of the world population but 13% of biomass due to obesity. One tonne of human biomass corresponds to approximately 12 adults in North America and 17 adults in Asia.
Greece ranked among the first 10 “heaviest” countries in the world in terms of maintaining overweight human biomass. North America tops the list of the heaviest populations, followed by Kuwait, Croatia, Qatar, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina, Greece and Bahrain. The “lightest” country in the world is North Korea.
According to the scientists, including doctors and experts from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and WHO, from the overall 287 million tonnes of human biomass, 15 million tonnes respond to overweight people and another 3.5 million tonnes to obese people. Average body mass globally was 62 kg, while North America holds the highest average body mass of any continent (80.7 kg).
According to UNO projections, global population is expected to reach 9.07 billion people by 2050. If this rise in population is combined with increases in average body mass, then the environmental impact will be severe.
(Info from biomedcentral.com)
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