Overweight and obesity are often perceived as higher income economy issues, but in fact they have been on the rise, and at a fast pace, in low- and middle-income countries. Breaking down by World Health Organization (WHO) regions, in the Americas, overweight and obesity affect 62 per cent and 26 per cent of the population, respectively. On the opposite side of the spectrum, in South-East Asia, only 14 per cent of the population are overweight.