Rising obesity in Africa reflects a broken global food system

by Rajiv Shah

Eight of the 20 nations with the fastest rising rates of adult obesity in the world are in Africa © Bloomberg

When I visited Kigali, Rwanda’s capital last week, I noticed an array of new fast food restaurants downtown. This is not an exception — chains such as Burger King, Pizza Hut and KFC are proliferating across Africa. Meanwhile, obesity rates are skyrocketing across the continent.

  • World Hunger Education
    Service
    P.O. Box 29015
    Washington, D.C. 20017
  • For the past 40 years, since its founding in 1976, the mission of World Hunger Education Service is to undertake programs, including Hunger Notes, that
    • Educate the general public and target groups about the extent and causes of hunger and malnutrition in the United States and the world
    • Advance comprehension which integrates ethical, religious, social, economic, political, and scientific perspectives on the world food problem
    • Facilitate communication and networking among those who are working for solutions
    • Promote individual and collective commitments to sustainable hunger solutions.