The Uneven Burden of Obesity Worldwide

World Obesity Day, which takes place every year on March 4, aims to raise awareness of obesity as a growing health issue: one that has shifted from being a problem limited to rich countries to a global challenge. According to the World Health Organization, nearly 900 million adults (18 years and older) were living with obesity in 2022 - a condition classified as a chronic, relapsing disease arising from complex interactions, including between genetics, neurobiology, eating behaviours and the environment (e.g., access to a healthy diet). Obesity raises the risk of serious documented health problems: type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, certain cancers and early death.

Our infographic, based on the latest comparable estimates from the World Health Organization and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, shows just how sharply adult obesity has risen globally over the past three decades. The chart compares the estimated share of obese adults (defined as having a BMI of 30 or higher) in 1992 and 2022 in a selection of ten countries, as well as the obesity-attributable deaths per 100,000 people in 2023. Overall, the data points to a crisis that is spreading almost everywhere, while the health toll varies widely.

The United States posts one of the highest rates in the comparison, with adult obesity more than doubling from around 20 percent in 1992 to over 40 percent in 2022, alongside 56 deaths per 100,000 people in 2023. Saudi Arabia and Mexico follow with similarly steep increases (up to 41 and 36 percent, respectively) and some of the highest mortality burdens in the dataset (171 and 90 deaths per 100,000, respectively), underscoring the scale of the challenge in those countries.

Across Europe, the picture is mixed. Obesity in the United Kingdom rose from around 14 percent in 1992 to 29 percent in 2022 (with 32 deaths per 100,000 people in 2023), while Germany climbed from around 16 percent to 24 percent (38 deaths per 100,000). France stands out as an outlier in this comparison, with obesity roughly flat at around 11 percent in 1992 and 2022, yet still recording 25 obesity-attributable deaths per 100,000 population.

In Africa, the chart highlights two very different profiles. South Africa already had comparatively high adult obesity in 1992 (15 percent) and nearly doubled to 30 percent by 2022, paired with a steep obesity-related mortality rate of 103 deaths per 100,000 in 2023. Nigeria, by contrast, remains far lower on prevalence (11 percent in 2022, up from 2 percent in the early 1990s), but still records a striking 60 deaths per 100,000. A reminder that the health burden can be severe even where obesity rates are not (yet) as widespread.

In Asia, obesity is climbing alongside rapid development. In China and India, obesity rates increased from around 1 percent in 1992 to between 7 and 8 percent in the early 2020s. Nevertheless, Japan remains an outlier: edging up from around 2 percent to 5 percent over the same period and recording the lowest mortality burden shown (11 deaths per 100,000 in 2023).