High rates of overweight and obesity in Asia and the Pacific seriously threaten people’s health and undermine the region’s prosperity warns this new book published by the Asian Development Bank. According to this book, obesity causes 12% of total health care expenditures or 0.78% of gross domestic product in the region.

The recently agreed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are expected to guide development through the 2030 time horizon. The 17 SDGs cover many areas, such as poverty, health, sustainable development, and the environment.

Over the past two decades, Asia and the Pacific have not only experienced rapid growth, but in parallel saw a rapid increase in overweight people and obesity. The latest available data indicated that over 40.9% of adults in the region are overweight compared to 34.6% in 1993.

This paper studies how East Asia's trade composition and orientation have changed over the past decade and analyzes the implications for the region and beyond.