Why obesity keeps rising despite our best efforts

For decades, governments, health experts and millions of people have tried to curb the growing burden of obesity. Yet the numbers continue to climb across almost every country, raising an important question: why is the trend proving so difficult to reverse?

A new study presented in The Lancet suggests that the answer lies not in individual choices alone, but in the way modern food systems and the human body work together. Researchers argue that obesity is driven by two powerful forces that reinforce one another, creating conditions that make weight gain increasingly common around the world.

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The first force is today’s food environment. Highly processed foods have become widely available, heavily promoted and deeply woven into everyday life. As these products become more common, they gradually replace fresh and minimally processed foods. Consumers, retailers, manufacturers and even policymakers all gain certain benefits from this system, making meaningful change difficult despite growing awareness of its health consequences.

The second force lies within the body’s natural response to food. The researchers explain that foods packed with calories and designed to be especially appealing are often eaten quickly, making it easier for people to consume more than they realise. Over time, this silent increase in daily intake can lead to gradual weight gain. Once extra weight is gained, however, the body tends to resist losing it more strongly than it resists gaining it, making long-term weight loss especially challenging.

The study concludes that these two forces work together, creating a cycle that fuels the global rise in obesity. Rather than placing blame solely on personal habits, the authors suggest that lasting progress will require changes that make healthier foods easier to choose while reshaping the wider environment that influences eating behaviours every day.

Only by tackling both the food system and the conditions that encourage excess eating can countries hope to slow the obesity pandemic.