Statista

Obesity has become a growing public health concern around the world, with its prevalence rising steadily over the past few decades. In many highly developed countries, obesity rates are now higher than they’ve ever been, placing a great burden on public health systems. The United States stands out among its peers with an adult obesity rate of more than 40 percent, compared to 20-30 percent in similarly developed nations like Canada, the UK and Germany and significantly lower rates in countries like Italy, France and Japan – the latter famous for its healthy diet rich in fish, seafood and plant-based foods. Several factors contribute to the rising prevalence of obesity in many countries, including increased consumption of highly processed and calorie-dense foods, lifestyle changes driven by modern technology and urban environments that often lack accessible spaces for physical activity. Additionally, socioeconomic factors, including access to affordable healthy food, play a significant role. Obesity carries serious health risks, including a higher likelihood of developing chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, certain cancers and respiratory issues. As obesity rates continue to rise, the associated health complications are becoming a major strain on healthcare systems globally. 

Booking.com has named its top trending destinations for 2025 based on the year-on-year growth rate of some of the most booked locations on the platform. Vacation hotspots that make their way onto the top list include Brazil's João Pessoa, known as the "Sun Gate". Admired as one of the greenest locations in the world, travelers can marvel at the city’s natural beauty by visiting Jardim Botânico and Parque Zoobotânico Arruda Câmara, while those looking for a more cultural day out can visit the historic Centro Historico De Joao Pessoa and the city’s many beautiful churches. Several destinations in Europe, including Italy's Trieste and Norway's Tromsø, have also seen increasing interest from visitors all over the world.

According to the United Nations, global food systems as well as food packaging and distribution are responsible for more than a third of greenhouse gas emissions in the world. In order to limit the impact on the environment, the UN recommends consuming more foods of plant origin, which are less resource-intensive than those of animal origin, and to buy products produced locally to restrict emissions linked to transportation. According to a survey carried out by Statista Consumer Insights between July 2023 and June 2024 in 21 countries, around one in four consumers cited the regionality of products among the most important criteria when purchasing food (several answers possible among 16 criteria). The Swiss as well as Austrians are the most inclined to turn to local products (45 percent cited this aspect as important), followed by Germans (38 percent), the French (34 percent) and Italians (32 percent). Conversely, the regionality of food products seems to be of much less importance for American and Chinese consumers: Only 10 percent of them said regionality was important for their purchasing decisions. However, beside perception of importance, there are several other factors that have an influence on the purchase of regional foods, for example price and availability.

The United States is one of just a handful of high-income countries to have a high level of inequality, according to data published by the World Bank. It is joined by Chile, Panama and Uruguay. The following map illustrates how income inequality varies around the globe. It uses the Gini index (or coefficient), which is a statistical measure that reflects the distribution of wealth (income, consumption, etc.) within a country. According to the World Bank's new report on Poverty and Shared Prosperity, high income inequality can "hinder poverty reduction, slow economic growth, limit access to economic and educational opportunities for individuals and reduce social cohesion within a country." However, reducing these inequalities can "promote the development of economic and human capital." In total, 49 countries have a Gini index above 40, or high income inequality. As this chart shows, highly unequal economies are concentrated in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as sub-Saharan Africa. More than 80 percent of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have a Gini index above 40, with Colombia (55) and Brazil (52) the most unequal countries in the region. More than half of the countries in sub-Saharan are affected, while the greatest inequalities exist in southern Africa, with South Africa (Gini index of 63) and Namibia (59) the most unequal countries in the world. The Gini coefficient is lowest in countries in Northern, Eastern and Central Europe. The lowest level of inequality in the world is measured in Slovakia, Slovenia and Belarus (Gini coefficient of 24), followed by countries such as the Netherlands, Iceland and the Czech Republic (index of 26). Currently, the majority of the current world population (5.6 billion, or 70 percent) lives in an economy where inequality is considered moderate, while a relatively small number (609 million, or 8 percent) live in economies where inequality is considered relatively low.

With just three weeks until election day, a long and often tumultuous campaign is approaching the home stretch. For months the race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, and Joe Biden before her, has dominated the headlines, both in the U.S. and internationally, as no other election in the world draws as much attention as the U.S. presidential election. Given the length of the U.S. presidential campaign that started off long before the first primaries and caucuses in January of this year, it’s no secret that many people will be glad when the race is finally over. But what do Americans think of the race so far? According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, views of the 2024 presidential campaign are mostly negative, with 79 percent of registered voters saying that the race does not make them feel proud of their country. 71 percent describe the race as too negative and 62 percent think that it wasn’t focused on important policy debates. Despite these criticisms, there’s one thing that most Americans agree on: the campaign was not boring. 68 percent of voters think that the presidential campaign has been interesting so far, versus just 30 percent who think it was dull.

International competition is intensifying for the deployment of satellite constellations into orbit. Satellite constellation - the most well-know being SpaceX's Starlink - are designed to provide high-speed global Internet access. Starlink, launched in 2019, had more than 6,300 satellites in service at the beginning of September, out of 12,000 eventually scheduled to be deployed (or even 40,000 according to an announcement of a possible extension of the project). Amazon meanwhile plans to put more than 3,200 satellites into orbit as part of its rival Kuiper project. Following the successful launch of two prototypes last year, the American multinational plans to deploy its first commercial satellites for the project in 2025. Elsewhere in the world, China is also embarking on large-scale satellite Internet infrastructure projects. At the beginning of August, the state-owned Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST) launched the first 18 satellites of its Qianfan constellation, which could include more than 15,000 satellites by 2030. Geespace, a subsidiary of the Chinese car manufacturer Geely, announced that its project had 30 satellites in orbit at the beginning of September, out of the nearly 6,000 planned. In Europe, French satellite operator Eutelsat entered the fixed and mobile broadband market at the end of 2019. With the recent acquisition of the British low-orbit constellation OneWeb, which will have more than 600 active telecoms satellites by 2024, Eutelsat currently operates the world's second-largest satellite constellation fleet after SpaceX. For its part, the European Union is working on the deployment of a sovereign constellation of broadband satellites. This project, comprising 300 satellites and christened Iris2, landed on the European Commission's desk on September 2. This massive occupation of the Earth's orbit by an ever-growing fleet of satellites does, however, raise numerous questions and concerns about the risks associated with collisions and space debris, as well as light pollution of the night sky for astronomical research.

With estimated sales of more than $22 billion last year, the United States is by far the largest sneaker market in the world. According to estimates from Statista Market Insights, roughly 380 million pairs of sneakers were sold in the U.S. last year alone, as athletic footwear has long transcended its utilitarian roots and become an essential piece of everyday wear for Americans from all age groups and backgrounds. According to findings from Statista Consumer Insights, Nike is still the most popular sneaker brand in the U.S., as the Oregonian sportswear giant leverages its home turf advantage versus long-term rival adidas. The German brand with the three stripes is the second most popular choice for U.S. sneaker owners, followed at some distance by New Balance, Converse and Nike’s Jordan brand, which is likely higher up the list among die-hard sneakerheads. With global footwear sales of $33 billion in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2024, Nike is not only the most popular but also by far the biggest seller of athletic footwear in the world. The company's chief rival Adidas recorded roughly $13 billion in footwear sales in 2023, illustrating how far ahead of the competition Nike still is.

The Home Depot and Lowe's Companies, Inc. are the two largest home improvement retailers in the U.S., both offering extensive products for construction, home repairs and gardening. Home Depot is often preferred by contractors and DIY enthusiasts for its broader range of building materials and tools. Lowe's, on the other hand, is known for being more homeowner-friendly, emphasizing customer service and an organized shopping experience. Let's find out who is the leader. For more company insights click here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eSd3TNgT

Self-driving cars - in real-world applications as of now limited to robotaxis - are simultaneously existing and scary as technological and ethnical implications around the subject are plentiful and recent accidents - for example of a Cruise robotaxi in San Francisco - have caused some hesitation among lawmakers and the public. While aformentioned Cruise by GM has suspended operations in six U.S. cities after the October incident, competitor Waymo by Alphabet is still operating limited public operations of driverless taxis in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and new-addition Austin, Texas. A Las Vegas service by Motional was suspended in May. In Chinese cities, it is already somewhat more normal to be able to board a robotaxi (or robobus) as several operators are vying for dominance and have expanded fleets. Apollo Go by Chinese tech company Baidu, one of the larger operators, currently has as many as 400 robotaxis on the road in the city of Wuhan. Several companies are operating public trials and services in the cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing. Smaller cities are also being included by some companies and they are also often where companies launched their first trial services. While initial trials were often free and even on an application basis, new low fare structures for robotaxis in China have already ruffled feathers with taxi drivers. While reassessing Cruise was supposed to service Dubai, Chinese provider WeRide has run a public trial in Abu Dhabi. Singapore has a robobus service by the same company. Many current robotaxis are limited to specific areas, times of day or distances and might have a remote safety operator, who under Chinese law can look after as many as three taxis. Some operations in China also include on-board safety drivers, which are present but are not needed for any specific maneuvers of the vehicle.

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