World obesity prevalence among males.
<5 span="">
5-10%
10-15%
15-20%
20-25%
25-30%
30-35%
35-40%
40-45%
45-50%
50-55%
>55%
World obesity prevalence among females.
<5 span="">
5-10%
10-15%
15-20%
20-25%
25-30%
30-35%
35-40%
40-45%
45-50%
50-55%
>55%
Obesity has been observed throughout human history. Many early depictions of the human form in art and sculpture appear obese. However, it was not until the 20th century that obesity became common — so much so that, in 1997, the World Health Organization (WHO) formally recognized obesity as a global epidemic. Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2, and in June 2013 the American Medical Association classified it as a disease, with much controversy.
In countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), one child out of five is overweight or obese. Once considered a problem only of high-income countries,
obesity rates are rising worldwide. Globally, there are now more people
who are obese than who are underweight, a trend observed in every
region over the world except parts of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. In 2013, an estimated 2.1 billion adults were overweight, as compared with 857 million in 1980. Of adults who are overweight, 31% are obese. Increases in obesity have been seen most in urban settings.
Since body fat can be measured in several ways, statistics on the
epidemiology of obesity vary between sources. While BMI is the most
basic and commonly used indicator of obesity, other measures include
waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, skinfold thicknesses, and
bioelectrical impedance. The rate of obesity increases with age at least up to 50 or 60 years old.
Africa
Obesity rates in Western Africa are estimated to be 10%. Rates of
obesity among women are three times those found in men. In urban West
Africa rates of obesity have more than doubled in the last 15 years.
Egypt
In Egypt,
according to data from the 2016 Global Burden of Disease study,
overweight and obesity (as measured by high BMI) was the country's
leading risk factor driving the most death and disability combined.
Asia
China
China is currently facing challenges of overnutrition.
This is believed to be primarily due to the rapid declines in physical
activity and changing dietary habits which have occurred between the
1980s and the 2000s. The decline in physical activity is attributed to
increasing technology in the workplace and changing leisure activities.
In 1989 65% of Chinese had jobs that required heavy labor. This decreased to 51% in the year 2000. Combined with this has been a change to a diet higher in meat and oil, and an increase in overall available calories.
Available calories per person increased from 2,330 kilocalories
(9,700 kJ) per day in 1980 to 2,940 kilocalories (12,300 kJ) per day in
2002. Rates of overweight and obese adults increased 12.9% in 1991 to 27.3% in 2004.
Overall rates of obesity are below 5% in China as a whole but are greater than 20% in some cities.
India
Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in India in the 21st century, with morbid obesity affecting 5% of the country's population. Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and NGOs such as the Indian Heart Association have been raising awareness about this issue. Urbanization and modernization has been associated with obesity.
In Northern India obesity was most prevalent in urban populations
(male = 5.5%, female = 12.6%), followed by the urban slums (male = 1.9%,
female = 7.2%). Obesity rates were the lowest in rural populations
(male = 1.6%, female = 3.8%).
Socioeconomic class also had an effect on the rate of obesity.
Women of high socioeconomic class had rates of 10.4% as opposed to 0.9%
in women of low socioeconomic class. With people moving into urban centers and wealth increasing, concerns about an obesity epidemic in India are growing.
Iran
In Iran the prevalence of obesity was 26.3% in 2008. Prevalence of obesity was more among women (39.5%) than men (14.5%).
Japan
Using the WHO criteria Japan has the lowest rate of obesity among the OECD member countries at 3.2%. However, as Asian populations are particularly susceptible to the health risks of excess adipose tissue the Japanese have redefined obesity as any BMI greater than 25. Using this cut off value the prevalence of obesity in Japan would be 20%, a threefold increase from 1962 to 2002. A 2008 report stated that 28.6% of men and 20.6% of women in Japan were considered to be obese.
Pakistan
Changing lifestyles, owing to urbanisation, as well as diet issues
are the main reasons for obesity in Pakistan. According to a recent
study, approximately one out of four Pakistani adults (or 22.2% of
individuals) are classified as obese.
Taiwan
In 2002,
15% of children from 6 to 12 years of age were overweight; by gender,
15.5% of males and 14.4% of females were overweight. In the same age
range, 12% of children were obese; by gender, 14.7% of males and 9.1% of
females were categorized as obese. In 2005, 14.9% children from 6 to 12
years of age were overweight; by gender, 15.85% of males and 14.02% of
females were overweight. 10.3% were categorized as obese; by gender,
10.92% of males and 9.73% of females were categorized as obese.
Based on these numbers, the trends were inconclusive, although
with more than 10% of the age group being obese, obesity does appear to
be a problem.
Europe
_1981-2006.jpg)
Rates of obesity in the Netherlands between 1981 and 2006.
Between the 1970s and the 2000s, rates of obesity in most European
countries have increased. During the 1990s and 2000s, the 27 countries
making up the EU reported rates of obesity from 10–27% in men and from
10–38% in women.
The most recent combined Eurostat
statistics, for 2009, show that, among the 19 EU Member States for
which data are available, the proportion of obese people in the adult
population varied in 2008/9 between 8.0% (Romania) and 23.9% (UK) for
women and between 7.6% (Romania) and 24.7% (Malta) for men. Overall the
UK had the highest proportions, and Romania the lowest. Men, the
elderly and people with lower educations also have significantly higher
obesity rates.
United Kingdom
In the UK the rate of obesity has increased about fourfold over the last 30 years, reaching levels of 22–24% in 2008/9. The United Kingdom now has the highest rate of obesity in Europe.
| Year | Percent males obese | Percent females obese |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 6% | 8% |
| 1993 | 13% | 16% |
| 2000 | 21% | 21% |
| 2008/9 | 22% | 24% |
North America
Epidemiological data show that, among high-income countries, obesity prevalence is highest in the United States and Mexico.
Canada
The number of Canadians who are obese has risen dramatically in
recent years. In 2004, direct measurements of height and weight found
23.1% of Canadians older than 18 had a BMI greater than 30. When broken
down into degrees of obesity, 15.2% were class I (BMI 30–34.9), 5.1%
were class II (BMI 35–39.9), and 2.7%, class III (BMI > 40). This is
in contrast to self-reported data the previous year of 15.2% and in
1978/1979 of 13.8%. The greatest increases occurred among the more
severe degrees of obesity; class III obesity increased from 0.9% to 2.7%
from 1978/1979 to 2004. Obesity in Canada varies by ethnicity; people
of Aboriginal origin have a significantly higher rate of obesity (37.6%)
than the national average.
In children obesity has substantially increased between 1989 and
2004 with rates in boys increasing from 2% to 10% and rates among girls
increasing from 2% to 9%.
Mexico
Mexico has one of the highest rates of obesity among OECD
countries, second only to the United States. To combat the epidemic, in
2014 Mexico implemented new taxes levied on food with excessive energy
content and on sugar-sweetened beverages.
United States
The
increase in obesity rates in the US as seen from 1985 to 2010 to the
point where every state has at least a 20% obesity rate has caused it to
become a significant focus of public health in recent years.
The percent of people per state with a BMI greater than 30 from 2011.
> 30%
25% to < 30%
20% to < 25%
15% to < 20%
10% to < 15%
< 10%
No Data
Obesity rates in the United States have nearly tripled since the 1960s. In 1962, about 13% of adult Americans were obese, and by 2002, obesity rates reached 33% of the adult population.
According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study
collected between the 1970s and 2004, the prevalence of overweight and
obesity increased steadily among all groups of Americans.
The numbers continue to rise; as of 2007, 33% of men and 36% of women were obese, and by 2015–2016, 39.6% of the total adult population (37.9% of men and 41.1% of women) had obesity.
Obesity rates vary between diverse social groups, with some racial
groups and low-income individuals more likely to be obese while other
minorities show lower rates. As of 2014 the rates were as low as 12% for
non-Hispanic Asian women and as high as 57% among African American
women.
The incidence of obesity also varies with geography. The American South has been referred to as the "Stroke belt",
"Obesity belt", or "Diabetes belt", to reflect the fact that residents
of the region have high rates of these three conditions, compared to
people of the same race/ethnicity elsewhere in the country.
Based on a study in 2008, estimates of obesity that rely on
self-reported data arrive at a rate of 22% among non-Hispanic white
females, whereas studies that involve direct measurement show that the
rate was closer to 34% at that time.
The prevalence of class III (morbid) obesity (BMI ≥40) has increased the most dramatically, from 1.3% in the late 1970s, to 2.9% in 1988-94, to 4.7% in 2000, to 5.7% in 2008, and to 7.7% in 2014. Among African American women, its prevalence is estimated to be as high as 17%.
The rate of increase in the incidence of obesity began to slow in
the 2000s, but as of 2014, obesity, severe obesity, and obesity in
children continued to rise.
Prevalence of obesity between 1960 and 2004 in the USA.
Obesity is one of the leading health issues in the United States, resulting in about 300,000 excess deaths per year. However, in 2005 using different methodology, research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention produced a nationwide estimate of 129,000 excess deaths per year relative to individuals with a BMI of 21 to 25.
South America and the Caribbean
Surveys in different Caribbean countries found that 7-20% of males and 22-48% of females over the age of 15 are obese.
Trinidad and Tobago has the highest obesity in the Caribbean, with over
30% of its adult population overweight, ranking the country sixth in
the world. The Bahamas have a major obesity epidemic: 48.6% of people between 15 and 64 years old are obese.
A female adolescent from the Bahamas is more likely to be overweight
than her male counterpart. In Jamaica, 7.2% of men over the age of 20
are obese, while 31.5% of women are obese.
Oceania and the Pacific
According
to 2007 statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), Australia
has the third-highest prevalence of overweight adults in the English-speaking world.
Australia
According to self-reported and measured results of the 2007–2008
National Health Survey, 61% of Australians were overweight (above a 25 BMI),
with 24% falling into the "obese" category (above a 30 BMI). Men were
more likely to be overweight (67.7%) and obese (25.5%) than women (30.9%
and 23.4% respectively).
New Zealand
Obesity in New Zealand has become an important national health
concern in recent years, with high numbers of people afflicted in every
age and ethnic group. In 2011/12, 28.4% of New Zealand adults were obese, a number only surpassed in the English-speaking world by the United States.
South Pacific
Many of the island nations of the South Pacific have very high rates of obesity. Nauru has the highest rates of obesity in the world (94.5%) followed by Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the American Samoa. Being big has traditionally been associated with health, beauty, and status and many of these beliefs remain prevalent today.
