The Scientific American magazine says, "The overarching trend that is encouraging all these changes in diet and lifestyle is globalization-the freer movement of capital, technology, goods and services across the world." Many developing countries are now being served by supermarkets which offer more unhealthy foods and drinks. These supermarkets also offer more meats, energy-dense oils, and energy-dense foods that contribute to obesity. This is a change from the simpler, more basic foods that were found in the native marketplaces.

There are many causes for obesity. One of these causes is globalization. Researchers say that one of the countries whose population may have become more obese because of globalization is China. Since globalization, the Chinese have been introduced to unhealthy foods from other countries. One website says, "About one fifth of the one billion overweight or obese people in the world are Chinese."

More countries are also receiving new technology that helps to do somethings quicker and easier and also requires less work, and, because of this, some people do not get the exercise that they need. Developing countries are starting to have supermarkets which carry sweets as well as "junk food" (calorie dense food with no nutritional value.) The Christian Science Monitor website says, "Levels of obesity in England have tripled in the past 20 years, with 1 in 5 adults here now seriously overweight..." This website also says, "one-third of the people living in the wealthy European Union are overweight..."