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Our World in Data published an interactive map that uses data compiled from figures from 195 countries around the world and shows the huge difference in obesity rates.
According to the information released, the figures come from the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, which recorded global trends between 1975 and 2016 of 128.9 million people.
The statistics were based on body mass index (BMI), specifically, people who were underweight, overweight or obese.
A person is considered overweight if your BMI, which is determined by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by their height in meters squared, is equal to or greater than 25.
According to the CDC, a BMI of 30 or higher constitutes obesity. A “healthy” BMI is considered to be 18.5 to 24.9.
The map shows that 39% of the world’s adults were overweight or obese, and 68% of Americans fell into those categories.
A recent study published in Science.org also suggested that obesity should be classified as a disorder of brain development, rather than a behavioral disease.
In figures: this is obesity in the world
According to the data collected, no country saw a decline in obesity rates between 1975 and 2016. Globally, 13% of adults over the age of 18 were reported as obese in 2016.
The world’s 10 fattest countries were in the Pacific, with the remote island of Nauru ranking first. Nearly nine out of 10 people in that location are overweight.
The island of Palau ranked second with 85.1% of the population being overweight or obese, followed by the Cook Islands (84.7%), the Marshall Islands (83.5%) and Tuvalu (81.9%). ).
The United States ranked 15th among the fattest nations and Great Britain ranked 30th.
As for the thinnest nation, Vietnam tops the list as only 18.3% of people in Southeast Asia consider themselves overweight or obese.
The 10 most overweight countries in the world are:
- Nauru: 88.5%
- Palau – 85.1%
- Cook Islands – 84.7%
- Marshall Islands – 83.5%
- Tuvalu – 81.9%
- Niuean – 80%
- Kiribati – 78.7%
- Tonga – 78.5%
- Samoa – 77.6%
- Micronesia – 75.9%
The 10 least overweight countries in the world are:
- Vietnam – 18.3%
- Indian – 19.7%
- Bangladesh – 20%
- Ethiopia – 20.9%
- Nepal – 21%
- Timorese – 21.6%
- Cambodia – 21.7%
- Eritrea – 22%
- Niger – 22%
- Burundi – 22.2%
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