List of countries by obesity rate

Obesity rate by country (2022)

List of Countries by Obesity Rate refers to the ranking of countries based on the percentage of their population that is classified as obese. Obesity is a medical condition characterized by excessive body fat that presents a risk to health. A variety of factors contribute to obesity rates worldwide, including but not limited to dietary habits, physical activity levels, genetic predisposition, and socioeconomic factors.

Overview

Obesity is measured by the Body Mass Index (BMI), which is a calculation derived from a person's weight and height. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), adults with a BMI of 30 or more are considered obese. The global obesity epidemic has been escalating, with significant increases in obesity rates observed over the past few decades across many countries.

Factors Influencing Obesity Rates

Several factors influence obesity rates globally. These include:

• Dietary Habits: Consumption of high-calorie, low-nutrient foods contributes significantly to obesity.
• Physical Activity: Sedentary lifestyles are a major factor behind rising obesity rates.
• Genetics: Genetic predisposition can play a role in an individual's likelihood of becoming obese.
• Socioeconomic Factors: There is a complex relationship between socioeconomic status and obesity, with both poverty and wealth contributing to higher obesity rates in different contexts.

Top Countries by Obesity Rate

As of the latest data, the countries with the highest obesity rates include small Pacific Island nations, the United States, and several countries in the Middle East. This section would typically list specific countries and their obesity rates, but given the constraints, specific current data cannot be provided.

Prevention and Management

Efforts to manage and prevent obesity focus on lifestyle changes, including improved dietary habits and increased physical activity. Public health campaigns and policies aimed at reducing obesity rates often include:

• Encouraging healthy eating habits
• Promoting physical activity
• Implementing policies to reduce consumption of unhealthy foods and beverages

Challenges

Addressing the global obesity epidemic presents numerous challenges, including:

• Overcoming cultural and societal norms that contribute to unhealthy lifestyles
• Ensuring access to healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity
• Addressing the marketing and availability of high-calorie, nutrient-poor foods

World obesity rate - CIA world data (2016)

Country	Slug	%	Date of information	Ranking	Region
Nauru	nauru	61	2016	1	Australia and Oceania
Cook Islands	cook-islands	55.9	2016	2	Australia and Oceania
Palau	palau	55.3	2016	3	Australia and Oceania
Marshall Islands	marshall-islands	52.9	2016	4	Australia and Oceania
Tuvalu	tuvalu	51.6	2016	5	Australia and Oceania
Niue	niue	50	2016	6	Australia and Oceania
Tonga	tonga	48.2	2016	7	Australia and Oceania
Samoa	samoa	47.3	2016	8	Australia and Oceania
Kiribati	kiribati	46	2016	9	Australia and Oceania
Micronesia, Federated States of	micronesia-federated-states-of	45.8	2016	10	Australia and Oceania
Kuwait	kuwait	37.9	2016	11	Middle East
United States	united-states	36.2	2016	12	North America
Jordan	jordan	35.5	2016	13	Middle East
Saudi Arabia	saudi-arabia	35.4	2016	14	Middle East
Qatar	qatar	35.1	2016	15	Middle East
Libya	libya	32.5	2016	16	Africa
Turkey (Turkiye)	turkey-turkiye	32.1	2016	17	Middle East
Lebanon	lebanon	32	2016	18	Middle East
Egypt	egypt	32	2016	19	Africa
United Arab Emirates	united-arab-emirates	31.7	2016	20	Middle East
Bahamas, The	bahamas-the	31.6	2016	21	Central America and the Caribbean
New Zealand	new-zealand	30.8	2016	22	Australia and Oceania
Iraq	iraq	30.4	2016	23	Middle East
Fiji	fiji	30.2	2016	24	Australia and Oceania
Bahrain	bahrain	29.8	2016	25	Middle East
Canada	canada	29.4	2016	26	North America
Australia	australia	29	2016	27	Australia and Oceania
Mexico	mexico	28.9	2016	28	North America
Malta	malta	28.9	2016	29	Europe
South Africa	south-africa	28.3	2016	30	Africa
Argentina	argentina	28.3	2016	31	South America
Chile	chile	28	2016	32	South America
Uruguay	uruguay	27.9	2016	33	South America
Dominica	dominica	27.9	2016	34	Central America and the Caribbean
Syria	syria	27.8	2016	35	Middle East
United Kingdom	united-kingdom	27.8	2016	36	Europe
Dominican Republic	dominican-republic	27.6	2016	37	Central America and the Caribbean
Algeria	algeria	27.4	2016	38	Africa
Oman	oman	27	2016	39	Middle East
Tunisia	tunisia	26.9	2016	40	Africa
Suriname	suriname	26.4	2016	41	South America
Hungary	hungary	26.4	2016	42	Europe
Lithuania	lithuania	26.3	2016	43	Europe
Morocco	morocco	26.1	2016	44	Africa
Israel	israel	26.1	2016	45	Middle East
Czechia	czechia	26	2016	46	Europe
Iran	iran	25.8	2016	47	Middle East
Costa Rica	costa-rica	25.7	2016	48	Central America and the Caribbean
Venezuela	venezuela	25.6	2016	49	South America
Andorra	andorra	25.6	2016	50	Europe
Ireland	ireland	25.3	2016	51	Europe
Vanuatu	vanuatu	25.2	2016	52	Australia and Oceania
Bulgaria	bulgaria	25	2016	53	Europe
Greece	greece	24.9	2016	54	Europe
Jamaica	jamaica	24.7	2016	55	Central America and the Caribbean
Cuba	cuba	24.6	2016	56	Central America and the Caribbean
El Salvador	el-salvador	24.6	2016	57	Central America and the Caribbean
Belarus	belarus	24.5	2016	58	Europe
Croatia	croatia	24.4	2016	59	Europe
Belize	belize	24.1	2016	60	Central America and the Caribbean
Ukraine	ukraine	24.1	2016	61	Europe
Spain	spain	23.8	2016	62	Europe
Nicaragua	nicaragua	23.7	2016	63	Central America and the Caribbean
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	saint-vincent-and-the-grenadines	23.7	2016	64	Central America and the Caribbean
Latvia	latvia	23.6	2016	65	Europe
Montenegro	montenegro	23.3	2016	66	Europe
Norway	norway	23.1	2016	67	Europe
Poland	poland	23.1	2016	68	Europe
Barbados	barbados	23.1	2016	69	Central America and the Caribbean
Russia	russia	23.1	2016	70	Central Asia
Saint Kitts and Nevis	saint-kitts-and-nevis	22.9	2016	71	Central America and the Caribbean
Haiti	haiti	22.7	2016	72	Central America and the Caribbean
Panama	panama	22.7	2016	73	Central America and the Caribbean
Luxembourg	luxembourg	22.6	2016	74	Europe
Solomon Islands	solomon-islands	22.5	2016	75	Australia and Oceania
Romania	romania	22.5	2016	76	Europe
North Macedonia	north-macedonia	22.4	2016	77	Europe
Colombia	colombia	22.3	2016	78	South America
Germany	germany	22.3	2016	79	Europe
Finland	finland	22.2	2016	80	Europe
Brazil	brazil	22.1	2016	81	South America
Belgium	belgium	22.1	2016	82	Europe
Iceland	iceland	21.9	2016	83	Europe
Cyprus	cyprus	21.8	2016	84	Europe
Georgia	georgia	21.7	2016	85	Middle East
Albania	albania	21.7	2016	86	Europe
France	france	21.6	2016	87	Europe
Serbia	serbia	21.5	2016	88	Europe
Honduras	honduras	21.4	2016	89	Central America and the Caribbean
Papua New Guinea	papua-new-guinea	21.3	2016	90	East and Southeast Asia
Grenada	grenada	21.3	2016	91	Central America and the Caribbean
Guatemala	guatemala	21.2	2016	92	Central America and the Caribbean
Estonia	estonia	21.2	2016	93	Europe
Kazakhstan	kazakhstan	21	2016	94	Central Asia
Portugal	portugal	20.8	2016	95	Europe
Sweden	sweden	20.6	2016	96	Europe
Mongolia	mongolia	20.6	2016	97	East and Southeast Asia
Slovakia	slovakia	20.5	2016	98	Europe
Netherlands	netherlands	20.4	2016	99	Europe
Paraguay	paraguay	20.3	2016	100	South America
Armenia	armenia	20.2	2016	101	Middle East
Guyana	guyana	20.2	2016	102	South America
Bolivia	bolivia	20.2	2016	103	South America
Slovenia	slovenia	20.2	2016	104	Europe
Austria	austria	20.1	2016	105	Europe
Ecuador	ecuador	19.9	2016	106	South America
Azerbaijan	azerbaijan	19.9	2016	107	Middle East
Italy	italy	19.9	2016	108	Europe
Denmark	denmark	19.7	2016	109	Europe
Peru	peru	19.7	2016	110	South America
Saint Lucia	saint-lucia	19.7	2016	111	Central America and the Caribbean
Switzerland	switzerland	19.5	2016	112	Europe
Moldova	moldova	18.9	2016	113	Europe
Botswana	botswana	18.9	2016	114	Africa
Antigua and Barbuda	antigua-and-barbuda	18.9	2016	115	Central America and the Caribbean
Turkmenistan	turkmenistan	18.6	2016	116	Central Asia
Trinidad and Tobago	trinidad-and-tobago	18.6	2016	117	Central America and the Caribbean
Bosnia and Herzegovina	bosnia-and-herzegovina	17.9	2016	118	Europe
Namibia	namibia	17.2	2016	119	Africa
Yemen	yemen	17.1	2016	120	Middle East
Lesotho	lesotho	16.6	2016	121	Africa
Kyrgyzstan	kyrgyzstan	16.6	2016	122	Central Asia
Uzbekistan	uzbekistan	16.6	2016	123	Central Asia
Eswatini	eswatini	16.5	2016	124	Africa
Malaysia	malaysia	15.6	2016	125	East and Southeast Asia
Zimbabwe	zimbabwe	15.5	2016	126	Africa
Gabon	gabon	15	2016	127	Africa
Tajikistan	tajikistan	14.2	2016	128	Central Asia
Brunei	brunei	14.1	2016	129	East and Southeast Asia
Seychelles	seychelles	14	2016	130	Africa
Djibouti	djibouti	13.5	2016	131	Africa
Mauritania	mauritania	12.7	2016	132	Africa
Sao Tome and Principe	sao-tome-and-principe	12.4	2016	133	Africa
Cabo Verde	cabo-verde	11.8	2016	134	Africa
Cameroon	cameroon	11.4	2016	135	Africa
Ghana	ghana	10.9	2016	136	Africa
Mauritius	mauritius	10.8	2016	137	Africa
Gambia, The	gambia-the	10.3	2016	138	Africa
Cote d'Ivoire	cote-divoire	10.3	2016	139	Africa
Thailand	thailand	10	2016	140	East and Southeast Asia
Liberia	liberia	9.9	2016	141	Africa
Benin	benin	9.6	2016	142	Africa
Congo, Republic of the	congo-republic-of-the	9.6	2016	143	Africa
Guinea-Bissau	guinea-bissau	9.5	2016	144	Africa
Nigeria	nigeria	8.9	2016	145	Africa
Senegal	senegal	8.8	2016	146	Africa
Sierra Leone	sierra-leone	8.7	2016	147	Africa
Pakistan	pakistan	8.6	2016	148	South Asia
Maldives	maldives	8.6	2016	149	South Asia
Mali	mali	8.6	2016	150	Africa
Togo	togo	8.4	2016	151	Africa
Tanzania	tanzania	8.4	2016	152	Africa
Somalia	somalia	8.3	2016	153	Africa
Angola	angola	8.2	2016	154	Africa
Zambia	zambia	8.1	2016	155	Africa
Equatorial Guinea	equatorial-guinea	8	2016	156	Africa
Comoros	comoros	7.8	2016	157	Africa
Guinea	guinea	7.7	2016	158	Africa
Central African Republic	central-african-republic	7.5	2016	159	Africa
Mozambique	mozambique	7.2	2016	160	Africa
Kenya	kenya	7.1	2016	161	Africa
Indonesia	indonesia	6.9	2016	162	East and Southeast Asia
Korea, North	korea-north	6.8	2016	163	East and Southeast Asia
Congo, Democratic Republic of the	congo-democratic-republic-of-the	6.7	2016	164	Africa
Sudan	sudan	6.6	2014	165	Africa
South Sudan	south-sudan	6.6	2014	166	Africa
Philippines	philippines	6.4	2016	167	East and Southeast Asia
Bhutan	bhutan	6.4	2016	168	South Asia
China	china	6.2	2016	169	East and Southeast Asia
Singapore	singapore	6.1	2016	170	East and Southeast Asia
Chad	chad	6.1	2016	171	Africa
Rwanda	rwanda	5.8	2016	172	Africa
Burma	burma	5.8	2016	173	East and Southeast Asia
Malawi	malawi	5.8	2016	174	Africa
Burkina Faso	burkina-faso	5.6	2016	175	Africa
Niger	niger	5.5	2016	176	Africa
Afghanistan	afghanistan	5.5	2016	177	South Asia
Burundi	burundi	5.4	2016	178	Africa
Laos	laos	5.3	2016	179	East and Southeast Asia
Uganda	uganda	5.3	2016	180	Africa
Madagascar	madagascar	5.3	2016	181	Africa
Sri Lanka	sri-lanka	5.2	2016	182	South Asia
Eritrea	eritrea	5	2016	183	Africa
Korea, South	korea-south	4.7	2016	184	East and Southeast Asia
Ethiopia	ethiopia	4.5	2016	185	Africa
Japan	japan	4.3	2016	186	East and Southeast Asia
Nepal	nepal	4.1	2016	187	South Asia
Cambodia	cambodia	3.9	2016	188	East and Southeast Asia
India	india	3.9	2016	189	South Asia
Timor-Leste	timor-leste	3.8	2016	190	East and Southeast Asia
Bangladesh	bangladesh	3.6	2016	191	South Asia
Vietnam	vietnam	2.1	2016	192	East and Southeast Asia

Conclusion

The list of countries by obesity rate highlights the widespread nature of the obesity epidemic. Addressing this issue requires a multifaceted approach that includes individual, community, and governmental efforts to promote healthier lifestyles and reduce the prevalence of obesity worldwide.

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