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Overweight and Obesity

Being overweight and obese is one of the key risk factors for many noncommunicable diseases (NCD) such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, and stroke, certain types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, gallbladder disease, dyslipidemia, osteoarthritis and gout, and pulmonary diseases. Body mass index (BMI) is a surrogate marker of adiposity calculated by dividing the weight of a person in kilograms by the square of the height in meters (kg/m²). In the case of adults, a person with a BMI equal to or greater than 30 is considered obese and a BMI equal to or greater than 25 is considered overweight. The BMI categories for defining obesity vary by age and gender in infants, children and adolescents.

This interactive visualization shows the level, disparities, and trends over time of the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents, and adults aged 18 years and older by sex in countries of the Region of the Americas from 1990 to 2022.  

Overweight and obesity (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) in adults

In 2022, the estimated age-standardized prevalence of overweight and obesity in adults in the Region of the Americas was 67.5% (64% in men and 61% in women), the highest among all WHO regions.

Overweight and obesity in adults increased by 52% from 44.4% in 1990 to 67.5% in 2022.

The magnitude of the age-standardized prevalence of overweight and obesity in 2022 varied substantially across countries from 29.9$% in Haiti to 78.8% in Chile. 

The top 20% of countries with the highest prevalence of overweight and obesity are Chile, Bahamas, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Puerto Roco, Mexico, Belize, the United States of America, and Panama. 

The bottom 20% of countries with the lowest prevalence of overweight and obesity are Canada, Dominica, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Cuba, Venezuela, and Haiti.

Obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) in adults

In 2022, the estimated age-standardized prevalence of obesity in adults in the Americas was 33.8% (36.5% in women and 31.0% in men), the highest among all WHO regions.

 

 

DATA CLASSIFICATION

In the map and horizontal bar chart, data are presented in five discrete classes created using the quantile classification method where each class contains 20% of countries. The quintile classes are labeled sequentially from Q1 as the first quintile including the lowest fifth (1% to 20%) of countries to Q5, the fifth quintile comprising the highest fifth (81% to 100%) of countries.

INDICATOR DEFINITION

Estimates of the percentage of the adult population by category of the body-mass index (BMI) are defined below.

Indicator name:

  1. Prevalence of overweight and obesity among adults, BMI ≥ 25 kg/m² (age-standardized estimate)
  2. Prevalence of obesity among adults, BMI ≥ 30 kg/m² (age-standardized estimate)
  3. Prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents, BMI > 1 standard deviation above the mean mean, based on the WHO reference (age-standardized estimate)
  4. Prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents, BMI > 2 standard deviation above the mean, based on the WHO reference (age-standardized estimate)

Data type: Percent

Topic: Risk factors

Definition: Percentage of defined population with a body mass index (BMI) by category: 1) overweight and obese BMI ≥25 kg/m²; 2) obese BMI ≥30 kg/m²; 3) severe obesity, BMI ≥35 kg/m²; and 4) morbid obesity,  BMI ≥40 kg/m².

Disaggregation: Sex, Country, Year

Method of measurement: Based on measured height and weight.

Method of estimation: Input data and methods are described in the following scientific paper: 

Preferred data sources: Population-based surveys

  1. NCD Risk Factors Collaboration (NCD-RisC). Worldwide trends in body-mass index, underweight, overweight, and obesity from 1975 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 2416 population-based measurement studies in 128.9 million children, adolescents, and adults. Lancet 2017, 390:2627–2642. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32129-3.

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