Half the world will be overweight by 2050

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar

Half the world will be overweight by 2050

A new Lancet report—looking at data from 204 countries—predicts that over half of all adults worldwide will be overweight or obese by 2050. This will include 57% of the men and 60% of the women. One in three young people—between the ages of 5 and 24—will be overweight or obese by 2050. The estimate is based on already alarming numbers: The number of overweight/obese people across the globe rose from 929 million in 1990 to 2.6 billion in 2021.

Point to note: This is happening inspite of the miracle weightloss drugs—such as Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy (We explained how the drugs work in this Big Story). The key reason: Lack of access in low income countries.

What about India?: According to the study, there will be 440 million overweight or obese Indians by 2050—the second highest in the world behind China (627 million). But we will be ahead of the US—which is estimated at 214 million. What’s notable: more than half of those classified as overweight or obese live in just eight countries: China, India, the US, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Indonesia and Egypt. This will be true in 2050 as well.

The most surprising bit: “[T]he most dramatic increase is expected in sub-Saharan Africa, where the number of overweight or obese people is projected to grow by more than 250% to 522 million.” Quartz has more on the study and world stats, while Mint has the Indian numbers.

Say hello to the Hindi-only belt

The context: For decades, South India has been battling the union government over the three-language formula in education. In essence, kids are expected to learn their mother tongue, Hindi and English. Southern states—especially Tamil Nadu—have ignored the requirement. The revised National Education Policy introduced in 2020 asks that two out of three be Indian languages—but does not require either to be Hindi. But TN still doubled down—insisting this is a smokescreen for “Hindi imposition.”

Key point to note: The entire purpose of the three-language formula is to encourage Indians to be multilingual—i.e. learn each other’s languages.

The Hindu’s analysis: This week, the newspaper published a deep-dive based on the most recent censuses which reveals a singular fact: Hindi-speaking states are in fact Hindi-only speaking states. Over 90% of their residents can only speak that one language—and that percentage is increasing:

[I]n 1991, 90.2% of Hindi speakers in undivided Bihar were monolingual. By 2011, in the divided Bihar, this figure had risen to 95.2%. Similarly, in Rajasthan, the share of monolinguals among Hindi speakers increased from 93% in 1991 to 94.3% in 2011. A comparable trend can be observed among Hindi speakers in Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh as well.

As for the rest of India: The number of monolingual residents—who speak only their regional language—has been steadily decreasing. In Tamil Nadu, it dropped from 84.5% in 1991 to 78% by 2011. In Odisha, the number declined from 86% to 74.5%. The same holds true for native Gujrati, Marathi, Telugu and Punjabi speakers. Basically, most Indians whose first language isn’t Hindi.

The reason: for this disparity may lie in English language adoption. More Indians outside the Hindi belt are multilingual because more of them learn English:

For example, in Tamil Nadu, 13.5% of native Tamil speakers also spoke English in 1991, a figure that rose to 18.5% by 2011. In contrast, in Haryana, the share of native Hindi speakers who also spoke English declined from 17.5% to 14.6% over the same period.

The sharpest rise was in Tamil Nadu, Odisha, and Punjab—with smaller increases in Gujarat and Maharashtra. What’s interesting: Gujarat and Maharashtra also witnessed a far larger spike in Hindi speakers—whereas that number has stagnated in the South. Point to consider: the BJP’s political fortunes sharply increased between 1991 and 2011. The Hindu’s excellent analysis is behind a paywall—and there is no option of a gift link. It is a must-read. Economic Times has more on the three-language formula.

The Trump tariff wars: An India update

The dreaded Trump tariffs are headed our way. India even got a special mention in the Donald’s address to Congress last night:

India charges us 100% tariffs, the system is not fair to the US, it never was. On April 2, reciprocal tariffs kick in. Whatever they tax us, we will tax them. If they use non-monetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we will use non-monetary barriers to keep them out of our market.

This is in keeping with Trump’s message to the PM on his recent visit: India ain’t special and “nobody can argue with me” on my demands. The expected impact:

Early assessments on the likely impact of reciprocal tariffs, done by Citi Research, suggest potential losses of about $7 billion a year for Indian companies in sectors such as chemicals, metal products, jewellery, pharmaceuticals and food products.

Stay calm and carry on: That seems to be New Delhi’s mantra—which hasn’t said a word about this impending doom. Instead, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar rambled at great length on how India and Trump were exactly on the same page—without mentioning the T-word. India is also pinning its faith to a bilateral free trade agreement—currently under negotiation with Washington.

But there is no indication that the treaty will earn us an exception to Trump’s rule: “If you don’t make your product in America, however, under the Trump administration, you will pay a tariff and in some cases, a rather large one.” FYI: These ‘negotiations’ mostly involve New Delhi agreeing to cut tariffs on various items.

What to expect: Analysts say despite the optimistic noises being made by the :government—dutifully echoed by Indian industry bodies—India is 100% in the firing line:

Countries such as India have among the widest tariff differentials — measured in terms of the difference in the average rate of tariff that India levies on imports from the US and what the US charges on imports from India. Analysts believe that the risk of retaliatory tariffs is high for India, which also enjoys a trade surplus of almost $100 billion with the US.

The Telegraph has the best analysis—while The Hindu has more on New Delhi’s response, or lack thereof.

Meanwhile, in Canada: PM Justin Trudeau is digging in—after he slapped a retaliatory 25% tariff on US goods. In response to a softer line out of the White House–suggesting Trump would meet Canada in the “middle”---Trudeau said: “We’re not interested in meeting in the middle and having some reduced tariff. Canada wants the tariffs removed.” And he will not lift Canadian tariffs until it happens. (Associated Press)

Meanwhile, in the US: Trump reacted to the nosediving US stock market by giving US automakers a one-month reprieve—from the tariffs on Mexico and Canada. The reason: “a 25% tariff would add between $4,000 and $10,000 per car to vehicles assembled in North America.” But it isn’t clear what the companies can do in 30 days—which isn’t enough to change their decades-old supply lines. (Quartz)

Piglets misused for art spark a storm

Artist Marco Evaristti’s exhibit in Copenhagen—which opened last week—put three piglets in two shopping carts… and slowly starved them to guaranteed death. Mercifully, they were rescued by animal activists over the weekend. They were fed only water—and were expected to die in five days. The justification for this shocking public display of cruelty:

The artist, Marco Evaristti, said in an interview on Monday that his exhibition, “And Now You Care?,” was meant to “wake up the Danish society” to the mistreatment of pigs, pointing to statistics that tens of thousands of pigs die each day because of poor conditions. “I have some kind of voice as an artist to talk about the issue,” Evaristti, 62, said. “So I will share my thoughts about what I think about the treatment of the animals in Denmark.”

Data point to note: Evaristti has good reason to be agitated. There are about 5,000 pig farms in Denmark that produce approximately 28 million pigs each year. Of these, “25,000 piglets die each day in Danish stables, some from starvation.”

The bigger picture: The use of animals by ‘conceptual artists’ has long been a source of controversy. For example, the Guggenheim had to pull this exhibit by Sun Yuan and Peng Yu in 2017:

The museum planned to show a video of “Dogs That Cannot Touch Each Other,” in which four pairs of dogs try to fight one another but struggle to touch because they are on nonmotorized treadmills, and a video of “A Case Study of Transference,” which shows two pigs having sex before an audience. But “Theater of the World” was the signature work of the show and was going to feature hundreds of live insects and reptiles milling under an overhead lamp.

Yes, this too was supposed to raise awareness about animal cruelty. Btw, Evaristti’s previous exhibit put ten goldfish in blenders—and invited visitors to, well, blend them. Some of them actually did. No doubt he was protesting the cruel treatment of goldfish. (New York Times)

what caught our eye

business & tech

Deloitte’s US tax staff now have extra motivation to show up—office attendance is officially tied to performance reviews and bonuses.
Private equity just hit a rare slump—assets under management fell 2% last year as investors pulled back, marking the industry’s first decline in decades.
In an exclusive, Reuters uncovers the deets on Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian signing on as a strategic adviser to Frank McCourt’s bid for TikTok US.
Monopoly goes digital—Hasbro's new App Banking edition replaces cash and the banker with a mobile app, making cheating harder and screens unavoidable.
BBC has a good read on Tesla’s India gamble—Musk's EVs are finally eyeing a debut, but with sky-high prices, rough roads, and Tata Motors dominating the market, can Tesla really find its spark?
We’ll get to find out soon though, since Tesla has locked in a five-year lease for its first India showroom in Mumbai.
NASA just pulled off a lunar first—its LuGRE experiment locked onto Earth’s GPS signals from the Moon, paving the way for its future missions to navigate autonomously in deep space.

sports & entertainment

Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson smashed blistering tons as New Zealand thumped South Africa by 50 runs to storm into the Champions Trophy final, setting up a title clash with India. Who will have to be wary as New Zealand’s sharp spin attack, deep batting lineup, and electric fielding threaten to spoil Rohit Sharma & co’s party.
Australia’s best batsman, two-time World Cup winner and stand-in captain Steve Smith has announced his retirement from ODI cricket.
Also retiring: Indian table tennis legend Achanta Sharath Kamal who started his career in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old former US Open champion Emma Raducanu will play at the Indian Wells Open—after the unfortunate Dubai Championships stalker incident from two weeks ago which left her “distraught”.
Australian cricketer David Warner is going to make his film debut in Telugu movie ‘Robinhood’—headlined by Nithiin and Sreeleela.
Variety offers a look into what the collapse of Technicolor means for Hollywood’s VFX Industry.
Amazon Prime Video is rolling out AI-powered dubbing in English and Spanish for 12 licensed movies and series.

health & environment

Scientists have found groundbreaking stem cell therapy for repairing damaged corneas and improving eye sight—which includes transplanting stem cells from the person’s other healthy eye.
Aspirin slowed cancer spread in mice, with those treated showing lower metastasis than untreated ones, a study finds—suggesting it may boost the body's immune response against tumors.
At least 286 lions—including 143 cubs—have died in Gujarat over the last two years. Point to note: 58 of these deaths were due to unnatural causes such as the big cats being run over by vehicles or drowning in open wells.
Wipro GE Healthcare is rolling out an AI-powered ultrasound system—made in Bangalore, promising sharper images, smarter automation, and better diagnoses.

meanwhile, in the world

Even as Trump threatens Hamas with total destruction, "sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job” and issuing a “last warning" if hostages aren’t freed, US officials break policy to talk directly with the group in Qatar, pushing for the hostages' release.
The US has paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine, with Trump officials confirming the administration is "taking a step back" and reviewing all aspects of the relationship.
And Zelenskyy, once resolute, has seemingly nowhere else to go as he now backs Trump’s ‘peace’ vision—agreeing to a mineral deal without the security guarantees he once called essential.
Canada is taking the US to WTO over Trump’s new tariffs, calling them "unjustified"—a move that follows Beijing’s own complaint.
The US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against Trump’s bid to withhold payments from foreign aid groups, ordering his administration to release the funds for work already done.
Washington DC is erasing its "Black Lives Matter" street mural near the White House, with Mayor Muriel Bowser calling it a distraction.
Associated Press argues that the Donald’s address to Congress on Tuesday showed Amreeka’s stark partisan divide.
New research reveals that the deadly eruption of Mount Vesuvius on the ancient town of Pompeii in 79 CE turned a man’s brain to glass.
Another day, another arson attack on Elon Musk’s Tesla—this time, several charging stations near Boston were torched.
The Trump administration may exclude government spending from the GDP, in order to obscure the impact of massive funding cuts by DOGE.

meanwhile, in India

In dry state Gujarat, police seized 82 lakh bottles of Indian-made foreign liquor worth Rs 144 crore last year, i.e. a liquor bottle was seized every four seconds!
Amid the Trump-ian turmoil over NATO and Ukraine, Belgium is pushing for defence cooperation with India in a bid to achieve ‘strategic autonomy’. Belgium will post a defence attache to India by the end of this year.
The population of millionaires in India grew by 6% in 2024—from 80,686 to 85,698.
The CBI has busted a railway exam cheating racket—26 officials have been arrested and Rs 1.17 crore seized in connection with the copying and leaking of question papers.
In an incident termed a mockery of women’s empowerment by local activists, the husbands of six newly elected women panchayat representatives took oath in their place.

Five things to see

One: Say hello to the new Macbook Air—equipped with the tech giant’s latest M4 chip. Experts feared that the price of new Apple products would be affected because of Trump's tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China—that went into effect on Tuesday. But Apple surprised its customers with a $100 cut—pricing the product at $999. See the promo vid below. (Quartz)

Two: Colossal Biosciences—the company that is trying to genetically revive the woolly mammoth, Tasmanian tiger and the dodo bird—has successfully engineered a new species called the colossal woolly mouse. These are genetically modified mice that have traits of the woolly mammoth—like cold tolerance and woolly hair (duh). According to the researchers, this brings them one step closer towards “de-extincting” their extinct cousin. Well, they do look cute—that’s until they breed and spread across the world and turn up in your kitchen. (The Guardian)

Three: Brazil’s biggest annual celebration kicked off on Friday. Among the dazzling samba school floats, our favourite is the show put on by ‘Unidos de Padre Miguel’—whose theme this year celebrates the resilience of African women. Reuters has more picturesque grabs from the festivities. (Associated Press)

Four: The Chinese EV BYD has taken ‘over-the-top’ quite literally. Their latest gimmick is a roof-mounted launch pad for a drone. Because a good driver surely needs a flying camera tailing them down the highway. The price for this accessory: $2,197. Safety hazards? Practical use? Who cares! You can watch the peak tech absurdity below. (The Verge)

Five: The UK’s fave director of all things gangster is back with a new series called ‘MobLand’—and this time he’s brought Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren along for the ride! The plot: an Irish crime family vies for power and relevance within a global syndicate. Brosnan and Mirren play the husband-wife crime bosses, while Hardy is the family’s fixer-hitman. The show will stream on Paramount+ in the US and UK on March 30—expect the messed-up Indian release on JioHotstar later this year. (Hollywood Reporter)