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Since 1990, rates have doubled among adults and quadrupled among children and adolescents.
More than 1 billion people worldwide live with obesity, making the condition the leading form of malnutrition.
The rate of obesity has more than doubled among adults and increased fourfold among children and adolescents around the world between 1990 and 2022, according to a new study published on Thursday in the journal The Lancet.
Overall, an estimated 159 million children and adolescents and nearly 880 million adults were estimated to be obese in 2022. The World Health Organization classifies obesity in adults as having a body mass index equal to or greater than 30 kilograms per square meter, while criteria for children differ based on age and sex.
Both women and men saw significant increases in obesity from 1990 to 2022. The study found obesity rates among women increased from 8.8% to 18.5% and from 4.8% to 14.0% among men. Among children, the global obesity rate among girls increased from 1.7% in 1990 to 6.9% in 2022 and rose among boys from 2.1% to 9.3% during the same period, with increases found in nearly all countries.
Obesity on the Rise
Between 1990 and 2022, obesity rates quadrupled for children and doubled for adults. Meanwhile, smaller shares are reported to be underweight across all categories.
At the same time, the study found the total number of adults who were classified as underweight, which was defined as having a BMI below 18.5 kg per square meter, declined by more than half between 1990 and 2022, falling from 14.5% to 7.0% in women, and from 13.7% to 6.2% in men. Children also saw single-digit decreases.
“It is very concerning that the epidemic of obesity that was evident among adults in much of the world in 1990 is now mirrored in school-aged children and adolescents,” said senior study author Majid Ezzati, a professor in the School of Public Health at Imperial College London in a released statement. “At the same time, hundreds of millions are still affected by undernutrition, particularly in some of the poorest parts of the world. To successfully tackle both forms of malnutrition it is vital we significantly improve the availability and affordability of healthy, nutritious foods.”
Low-income and middle-income countries had some of the greatest increases in obesity prevalence, in particular, those located in Polynesia and Micronesia, the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa. The study found countries in those regions have obesity rates that are now higher than many wealthy, industrialized countries.
The island nations of Tonga and American Samoa had the highest prevalence of obesity in 2022 for women, while American Samoa and Nauru had the highest among men. In those countries, more than 60% of the adult population were obese, according to the study. Among children, the South Pacific Island nations of Niue and the Cook Islands had the highest prevalence of obesity among both girls and boys, where more than 30% were living with obesity.
On the other hand, countries with the highest prevalence of people who were underweight in 2022 included Eritrea and Timor-Leste for women, and Eritrea and Ethiopia for men, where more than 20% of the adult population were underweight. Among children, India and Sri Lanka had the highest prevalence of girls who were underweight in 2022, while Niger and India had the highest underweight prevalence among boys.
Though the U.S. doesn’t top the list of countries with the highest prevalence of obesity, it has seen significant increases during the survey period and has higher rates than some other wealthy nations. The U.S. adult obesity rate increased from 21.2% in 1990 to 43.8% in 2022 for women, and from 16.9% to 41.6% in 2022 for men, according to the study, placing the country 36th in the world for highest obesity rates among women and 10th highest among men. By contrast, the adult obesity rate in the U.K. increased from 13.8% in 1990 to 28.3% in 2022 for women, ranking it 87th highest in the world, while the obesity rate for men rose from 10.7% to 26.9%, making it 55th highest for obesity.
Among children, the study found the U.S. obesity rate increased from 11.6% in 1990 to 19.4% in 2022 for girls and 11.5% to 21.7% in 2022 for boys. The U.S. ranked 22nd highest in the world for obesity among girls and 26th highest in the world for boys in 2022.
“A healthy nutrition transition that enhances access to nutritious foods is needed to address the remaining burden of underweight while curbing and reversing the increase in obesity,” the study authors wrote. (https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2024-02-29/more-than-1-billion-people-worldwide-suffer-from-obesity)
