How Much Will We Eat in The Future?

Researchers at Göttingen University investigate relationship between our body size and human global calorie demand.

The amount of food needed to feed the world’s population in the future is of vital importance. To date, scientists have only considered this question from the perspective of how much food people can afford to buy, how much food is healthy or what can be sustainably produced. However, researchers at the University of Göttingen have now analysed how the actual quantity of food that people would like to eat is likely to change. A rising Body Mass Index (BMI), which evaluates weight in relation to height, and an increasing body height lead to a marked increase in global calorie requirements. The results have been published in the journal PLOS ONE

.Percentage change in the annual amount of calories required by the population between 2010 and 2100, assuming an increase in body weight and given population growth. The projection of weight gain is based on the assumption that all countries will follow the historical development of body size and weight in Mexico and height in the Netherlands before 2010