Obesity rates are set to skyrocket, with one in six children and adolescents worldwide forecast to be obese by 2050, according to a new study. But with significant increases predicted within the next five years, the researchers stress urgent action now could turn the tide on the public health crisis.

Without urgent policy reform and action, over half the world’s adult population (3.8 billion) and a third of all children and adolescents (746 million) are forecast to be living with overweight or obesity by 2050—posing an unparalleled threat of premature disease and death at local, national, and global levels, according to a major new analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study BMI Collaborators, published in The Lancet.

A new study in the journal Science of the Total Environment found that emissions from onroad vehicles cause 342 premature deaths annually in Greater Boston. Nearly 90 percent of these deaths are linked to elevated levels of nitrogen dioxide in the region. The majority of these health damages were linked to emissions from light-duty trucks, such as SUVs, pickup trucks, vans, and minivans. SUVs have ranked in recent years the most popular car among residents in the Bay State.