The availability of food is unevenly distributed on a global basis. This gap is likely to worsen, while food waste will increase and pressure on the environment will rise, according to a new study. Researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) assessed the consequences if the current nutrition transition from scarce starch-based diets toward processed foods and animal products continues. The calculations combine, for the first time, estimates for malnutrition and obesity, food composition and waste. Their findings provide a startling look ahead: By 2050, more than 4 billion people could be overweight, 1.5 billion of them obese, while 500 million people continue to be underweight.