Modern Technology Adds to Worldwide Obesity Burden

The increasing amount of time that people spend using computers, playing video games, and watching television is a major factor in rising rates of obesity worldwide, according to a new study.

Researchers at the Milken Institute (Santa Monica, CA, USA) examined the effect that knowledge-based technology had on obesity rates in 27 countries that belong to the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD; Paris, France) by comparing the level of investment and communication technology (ICT) for each of the countries and their obesity rates between 1988 and 2009. The United States had the highest percentage of obese adults (34%), followed by Mexico (30%), New Zealand (26), Australia (25%), and Canada (24%).

The researchers found that for every 10% increase in ICT investment as a share of gross capital formation, the obesity rate climbed an average of 1.4%. But the researchers found that this trend could be reversed; in countries with high ICT investment rates, a 1% increase in the number of physically active people can prevent a 0.2% rise in obesity. However, this is rarely the case, since obesity rates in many developing countries are also climbing fast. For example, the obesity rate in China more than doubled between 2002 and 2008, from 2.5% to 5.7%.

“Technological innovations, more processed foods, a greater amount of 'screen time,' less exercise, and higher consumption of snack foods have all played a role. These are all the adverse effects of a knowledge-based society,” said report coauthor economist Anusuya Chatterjee, PhD. “In addition to the human suffering, a key concern is the price tag. In the United States, the medical burden of obesity climbed to 9.1%of annual medical spending in 2006 from 6.5% in 1998. Today, it is probably 12% and rising.”

The Milken Institute is an independent economic think tank that publishes research and hosts conferences that apply market-based principles and financial innovations to a variety of societal issues.

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