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Obesity levels, non UK regions and countries

The figures given here are from different surveys for different years. Methodologies are not necessarily compatible, but these figures illustrate general trends within countries. Countries are in alphabetical order (for UK figures see UK Obesity).

Obesity is generally defined as a BMI of 30 or more. Overweight is a BMI of 25-30.

Where available, figures are split between male and female; where only an overall figure is available, male and female percentages are given as identical and highlighted yellow.

Note that the % overweight may fall in countries where the average weight is increasing, as more people move from the ‘overweight’ into the ‘obese’ category

Argentina

1997 34% of adults (39% of men and 29% of women) were overweight. A further 27% of adults are obese (28% of men, 25% of women).

Australia

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1980			7.1%	7.1%
1990			8.7%	8.7%
1997	42.0%	42.0%	18.0%	18.0%	10.0%	10.0%
2000	34.0%	49.0%	22.2%	19.3%
2006	38.0%	38.0%	22.0%	22.0%
2008	33.0%	33.0%	26.0%	26.0%

Austria

2000, 8.5% of adults were obese.

2006, 12.4% of adults were obese

2010, 13.2% of women and 12.4% of men were obese

Bahrain

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1991	31.3%	16.0%	29.4%	26.3%

Belgium

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
2000			11.0%	11.0%
2002	41.0%	62.0%			18.0%	18.0%
2003			14.0%	14.0%
2004			18.0%	12.0%
2010			14.7%	13.3%

Bolivia

1994, 26% of adults were overweight. A further 8% adults (10% urban, 5% rural) were obese.

Brazil

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1975			8.2%	3.1%
1985			7%	7%			4%	4%
1989			13.3%	5.1%
1997*	27%	31%	13%	7%			14%	14%
1999	31%	31%
2003			10%	27%
2008	53%	53%

*1997, The obesity figures broke down to – urban:- 8% men and 13% women, and - rural:-3% men and 10% women.

Obesity Review, 2001, 2-99-105, published a breakdown of obesity figures for Brazil, by sex; by year, 1975, 1989, 1997; by rural-urban split; and by income quartile. The general trends were for an increase in obesity 1) in later years, 2) from rural to urban 3) from male to female, and 4) as income rises. However there are indications that towards 1997 wealthier female Brazilians are seeing a fall in obesity, taking their obesity levels below poorer females, below earlier levels for wealthy Brazilian females, and perhaps even below wealthy male Brazilian rates for the later 1990s. A further reversal of trends; the wealthiest urban Brazilian females in 1997 had an obesity rate below the wealthiest rural Brazilian women.

Bulgaria

2002, 20% of children were overweight or obese

2010, 11.3% of wonen and 11.6% of men were obese

Canada

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1972	34.0%	47.0%	13.0%	8.0%
1985								11%
1992	41.0%	58.0%	15.0%	13.0%
1995								30%
2006	33.0%	33.0%	18.0%	18.0%

Chile

1992, 20% of adults were obese (16% of men, 23% of women).

China

Between the late 1980s and early 1990s the number of people overweight rose from 9% to 15% of the population (The Times, 23/1/2000). This was despite a traditional diet which is vegetable based and has few dairy products.

2003, 15% of men and 16% of women are overweight. This rises to 33% in the wealthier cities such as Beijing.

2004, In the large cities, 30% of adults are overweight, including 12% who are obese (Times II, 29/10/04, p.11). Hypertension now affects almost 20% of the Chinese, a 31% increase in a decade. The prevalence of diabetes has risen from 4.6% in 1998 to 6.4% in 2004.

In a reversal from the usual pattern seen in the West, a Chinese study has found that children from wealthy families are more likely to have a nutritionally poor diet than those of poorer Chinese households (Guardian, 8/1/05, p.18). Chinese children from high income families are more likely to eat a diet rich in fast food, because of the fast-pace of work and life of their parents; their poorer cousins may eat more home-grown vegetables. Also some Chinese parents may judge the nutritional value of food by how expensive it is, leading to over-purchasing of burgers and other fast food. The Guardian article (ibid) also said that as China becomes richer, households shift consumption from vegetables to meat, and especially towards Western-style processed meat and other foods.

2006, 25% of adults were overweight or obese.

Colombia,

1995, 31% of adults were overweight. A further 9% of adults (9% urban and 9% rural) were obese.

1999, 43% of adults were overweight.

2003, 21% of adults were obese.

Croatia

2002, 27% of children were overweight or obese

Cuba,

2003, has 6% of its adults obese.

Cyprus

2010, 14.5% of women and 16.7% of men were obese

Czech Republic

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1993			11.2%	11.2%
2000			14.2%	14.2%
2002	58.0%	73.0%			16.0%	16.0%
2004	43.0%	67.0%			10.0%	10.0%
2005			17.0%	17.0%
2010			18.3%	18.4%

Denmark,

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1947							0.4%	0.1%
1961							0.65%	0.15%
1971							0.7%	0.4%
1975							0.6%	0.5%
1985							2.4%	2.3%
1988			5%	5%
1990							2.0%	0.9%
1995			7.6%	7.6%			2.6%	2.0%
2000			10%	10%			2.5%	3.0%
2001			7.5%	7.5%
2002	41%	54%					1.5%	1.7%
2003			9.5%	9.5%			3.5%	3.0%
2004			9%	10%
2005			11.4%	11.4%

Dominican Republic,

1996, 26% of adults were overweight. A further 12% of adults (13% urban, 10% rural) were obese.

Egypt

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1995	31.7%		20.1%

Estonia

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1987	23.9%	32.0%	6.0%	9.9%
2002	20.0%	31.0%
2010			20.5%	16.0%

Finland

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1980			7.4%	7.4%
1990			8.4%	8.4%
2000			11.2%	11.2%
2002	52.0%	68.0%			13.0%	13.0%
2004			19.0%	19.0%
2006			14.3%	14.3%

France

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1982	16.3%	30.0%	5.3%	5.3%	5%	5%
1990	17.9%	30.9%	6%	6%
2000			9%	9%
2003	21.2%	34.8%	11.3%	11.3%	19%	19%
2005			11%	11%	19%	19%	12%	12%
2010			12.7%	11.7%
2012			15%

Germany

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1999	40%	56%
2002	49%	55%
2003			20%	18%
2004	41%	58%	19%	17%
2006	36%	36%	14%	14%
2010			15.6%	16.1%

Greece

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
2002					31.0%	31.0%
2003			29.0%	29.0%
2006			21.9%	21.9%
2010			17.6%	17.6%

Guatemala

1995, 26% of adults were overweight. A further 8% of adults (13% urban, 5% rural) were obese.

Haiti

1995, 8.9% of adults were overweight. A further 2.6% of adults (4.8% urban, 1.4% rural) were obese.

Honduras,

1996, 24% of adults were overweight. 8% of adults (13% urban, 5% rural) were obese.

Hungary

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
2000			19.0%	19.0%
2002	38.0%	52.0%			18.0%	18.0%
2003			18.8%	18.8%
2006			21.0%	21.0%
2010			18.8%	21.4%

Iceland,

2005, 12.4% of adults were obese

India, 2003, 7% of adults were obese. In 2006, The Independent, website 6/8/06, reported on an increasing obesity problem in India due to that country’s economic expansion. 76% of New Delhi women are ‘abdominally obese’ and in all Indian cities, 33% of 15 – 17 year olds are obese; meanwhile in 2004 children were still starving to death in rural West Bengal, and the World bank reports (2006) that 45% of Indian children are malnourished..

Indians may be at increased risk of obesity if the ‘thrifty gene’ theory is true and that an embryo who detects that their mother is thin switches on certain genes that predispose to weight gain, a good move in a food-scarce environment. Not such a good move when a country moves from poverty and starvation to prosperity and ample fast food within one generation. The fashion for India’s new industrial elite is to drink more alcohol, also Western fast food, almost unknown until recently, has a status value in India. These noveaux riche also get less exercise; they travel to work by car, and many grocery shops, and even furniture and jewellery outlets, will deliver right to their door*. The rich have their own drivers, they even have servants to walk the dog. In 40 degree heat and monsoonal humidity there is little incentive to walk anywhere, especially in Western as opposed to looser Indian clothing.

33 million Indians had diabetes in 2006, obesity being one of the main causes; this is a tenfold increase on 1971. One drastic remedy; stomach stapling, which would cost US$12,500 in New York but can be done in India for as little as US$ 3,000. Just cutting back sufficiently on food may not be an option for the grossly obese, whose stomachs are so large and bodies so big they cannot either exercise or eat less, without feeling unbearable hunger pangs.

*This reversal of the usual positive correlation between obesity and poverty is also seen in China.

Iran,

Iran still (2005) has problems of under nutrition, in some cases severe enough to retard the growth and normal weight gain associated with child/adolescent growth. However Iran also has an emerging obesity problem, particularly in its faster-growing urban population. Obesity Reviews 6, 2005, pp.191-192, stated that in urban areas, 22% of people aged 15-39 and 40% of people aged 40-69 had body weights ‘over the 85^th reference percentile’. For rural areas of Iran the figures were 16% and 26% respectively.

2003, 20% of adults (10% of men and 30% of women) were obese.

Ireland

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1998	25.0%	40.0%	9.0%	11.0%
2000			10.0%	10.0%
2003	50.0%	50.0%	14.0%	12.0%			10.0%	10.0%
2005	39.0%	39.0%	18.0%	18.0%
2006	34.0%	34.0%	14.0%	14.0%
2007			25.0%	25.0%

Israel,

2001, of the adult population aged 25-64, 39.3% were obese and a further 22.9% were obese. Being overweight was more common amongst men than women; however obesity was more prevalent amongst women. The (poorer) Arab population was more obese than the (wealthier) Jewish population.

2002, 51% of women and 59% of men were overweight

2003, 18% of adults were obese.

Italy

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1994			7.0%	7.0%
2000			8.5%	8.5%
2003	34%	48%	10%	10%	36%	36%	29%	29%
2004			6%	6%	36%	36%
2006	32%	32%	10.2%	10.2%
2010			9.3%	11.3%

Japan

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1976				0.8%
1980			2.0%	2.0%
1990			2.3%	2.3%
2000			2.9%	2.9%
2003			3.0%	2.0%
2004	24/0%	24.0%
2005			3.9%	3.9%
2006	22.0%	22.0%	4.0%	4.0%

Jordan

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1995			59.8%	32.7%

Kazakhstan

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1995	21.8%		16.7%
2002	47.0%	33.0%

Kenya

2004, 12% of the population was overweight

Korea (South)

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1995	18.0	11.7
1998	24.1	23.7	3.1	1.8
2001	24.3	30.1	3.1	2.8
2005			3.5	3.5

(Obesity Reviews; 9, 2008, pp.104-107

2001, The average Body Mass Index of South Koreans rose from 22.5 in 1995 (23 male, 22 female) to 23.5 in 2001 (23.7 male, 23.4 female). For reasons of Koreans having a different physiological proportion of body fat to Europeans (see Obesity Review, 6, 2005, pp.117-121), ‘obesity’ amongst South Koreans may be defined as a BMI of 25, not 30. On this basis (BMI=25), in 2001, 30.6% of South Korean adults were obese (32.4% male, 29.4% female).

Kuwait

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1993	32.3%	35.2%	40.6%	32.3%
2003			37.0%	37.0%

Kyrgzystan

2002, 28% of women were overweight

Latvia

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1997	33.0%	41.0%	17.4%	9.5%
2002	41.0%	41.0%
2010			20.9%	12.0%

Lithuania

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1997	32.7%	41.9%	18.3%	11.4%
2000	31.6%	45.6%	23.4%	16.9%
2002	41%	42%

Luxembourg

2006, 18.6% of adults were obese

Malawi, 2003, 7% adults obese.

Malaysia

In 2002, 20.7% of adults were overweight and a further 5.8% were obese. 0.3% of the Malay adult population had a BMI of over 40. Increasing affluence may have increased the dietary intake of fats and sugars, whilst reducing the amount of manual work being done.

Malta

2002, 35% of children overweight or obese

2003 over half of its 10 year old girls over weight or obese. In 2003, 33% of its ten year olds were obese.

2010, 21.1% of women and 24.7% of men were obese

Mexico

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1980			0.0%	0.0%
1988	33.0%	33.0%
1992	37.0%	44.0%	25.0%	15.0%
1999	35.0%		24.0%
2003	36.0%	41.0%	26.5%	17.0%
2006	38.0%	38.0%	30.0%	30.0%

Mexico’s diabetes, heart disease, and cancer rates have soared. In 1968 diabetes was the 35^th cause of mortality in Mexico; in 2004 it was the 1st cause of mortality. In 2004 Mexico had 6.5 million people with diabetes, out of a total population of 104 million.

Obesity was almost non-existent in Mexico in 1980. However there was hunger; the country’s rapid transition, over a few decades, to a more prosperous economy has impacted on babies who grew up under-nourished in the 1960s and 70s. As described on this website here (see 1.1.b), In utero environment), unborn children who detect an environment where food is scarce adapt theoir metabolism to store food more effectively. This means they are more prone to store fat, i.e. become obese, if in later years the environemnt turns out to ba calorie-rich.

Morocco

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1984	18.7%	18.7%	6.4%	1.6%
1992	22.3%		10.5%
2000	33.0%	28.0%	18.3%	5.7%
2003			12%	12%
2004	40%	40%

Obesity rates 1984/5 were average 4.1% for all adults; 5.5% in the urban population and 2.6% in the rural population.

Obesity rates 1998/9 were average 10.3% fir all adults; 12.2% in the urban population and 7.4% in the rural population.

Obesity rates, 2000 were average 13.3% of all people aged over 20.

Obesity varied geographically, (2000), from 10% in the north-west of the country to 49% in the (poorer) south. Laayoune Province in the south had obesity rates for all adults of 75%. Obesity rates also rose with age.

Namibia, 2003, 5% adults obese.

Nauru

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1987			70.0%	65.0%

Netherlands

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1981	30%	37%	6%	4%
1991			7%	5%
2000	45%	55%	7.5%	7.5%
2004	42%	51%	12.0%	10.0%	19.5%	13%	4.5%	3%
2006			11.3%	11.3%

New Zealand

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1990			11.0%	11.0%
2000			15.0%	19.5%
2007			26.5%	26.5%

Norway

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1998			6.0%	6.0%
2002	41.0%	63.0%			21.0%	21.0%
2003			10.0%	13.0%
2005			9.0%	9.0%

Panama

2003, 37% of adults are obese.

Papua New Guinea

Obesity (1987) was high in urban areas; 54% for women and 36% for men. However in the rural highland areas it was around 5% for both sexes.

Paraguay

1992, 39% of adults (42% of men and 36% of women) were overweight. A further 29% of adults (23% of men and 36% of women) were obese.

2003, 30% of adults are obese.

Peru

1996, 41% of adults (42% of men and 40% of women) were overweight. A further 12% of adults (7% of men and 16% of women) were obese.

Peru’s regional obesity figures (1996) were:-

Coastal, 11% men, 23% women

Mountain, 5% men and 9% women

Amazon forest (mainly Indian ethnic), 1% men and 9% women

Lima urban, 12% men and 25% men

2003, 32% of adults were obese.

Philippines, 2003, 3% of adults obese.

Poland,

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1993			8.9%	6.3%
2000			11%	11%
2003			15%	6.5%	6%	6%	6%	4%
2004			12.5%	12.5%
2010			15.8%	17.3%

Obesity is more prevalent in the eastern (poorer) regions of Poland.

Portugal

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1996	31%	41%	15%	13%
2000			11%	11%
2002	46%	52%
2004	39%	39%	14%	14%
2005			12.9%	12.9%

Romania

2002, 59% of women and 60% of men were overweight

2010, 8.0% of women and 7.6% of men were obese

Russia

2002, 52% of women and 42% of men were overweight

2003, 18% of adults (10% men, 25% women) obese, and 6% of children were overweight.

2004, 11% men and 27% women were obese.

Samoa

Obesity (1991) was high in urban areas; 77% for women and 58% for men. It was also relatively high in rural areas; 59% for women and 42% for men

Saudi Arabia

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1996	27.0%	29.0%	24.0%	16.0%
2003			20.0%	13.0%

Serbia, formerly Yugoslavia

2002, 16% of children were overweight or obese

2003 40% of women and 35% of men were obese

Slovakia

2002, 43% of women and 67% of men were overweight. 10% of children were overweight or obese

2005, 17.6% of adults were obese

2010, 15.7% of women and 14.5% of men were obese

Slovenia

2010, 16.3% of women and 17.3% of men were obese

South Africa

In South Africa a rapid shift towards a western-style diet with much ‘junk food’ and burgers has colluded with a culture where visible excess weight can be seen as indicating health and wealth, to produce a rapid rise in obesity levels towards USA levels. “In parts of South Africa the density of fast food outlets is almost as high as California”, said Tessa Van Der Merwe, the chair of the South African society for the Study of Obesity (Guardian, 3/11/2004, p.16).

AIDS - An additional factor is that being underweight may be associated with being HIV positive, the disease is actually called ‘slim’ in parts of Africa. Especially, rapid weight loss is associated with AIDS.

Even before AIDS, being overweight, especially amongst Black women, was seen as a sign of prosperity and of being well cared for by the husband.

It is feared that between 2004 and 2025, Type-II diabetes may double amongst Black South Africans.

Racial breakdown of overweight / obese people in South Africa, 2005

BLACK

Overweight – Women, 43%. Men, 41%.

Obesity - Women, 32%. Men, 8%

COLOURED

Overweight – Women, 39%. Men, 39%.

Obesity - Women, 27%. Men 7%.

INDIAN

Overweight – Women, 16%. Men, 30%.

Obesity - Women, 21%. Men, 6%.

WHITE

Overweight – Women, 21%. Men, 39%.

Obesity - Women, 21%. Men, 17%

1998, 57% of women and 29% of men were obese or overweight

2003, 19% adults (9% men, 29% women) obese

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1980	57.0%		24.0%
2010	73.0%	62.0%	43.0%

Spain

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1987			7.7%	7.7%
1997			12.9%	12.9%
2000			15.8%	13.4%
2003			13%	13%	27%	27%
2004			15%	11%			14%	14%
2006	35%	35%	14%	14%
2010	56%	56%	14.4%	17.0%	27%	27%

Geography and obesity

Obesity tended to be higher in the southern provinces of Spain (Obesity Review, 5, 2004, pp.171-2). 16.9% of adults in the southernmost province, Andalucia, were obese, and the three neighbouring provinces all scored between 13.8% and 15% obesity rates. The Madrid region scored 11.9% obesity, as did most of Spain’s north-west regions, excepting the northern Atlantic-coastal regions, where rates were again around 14-16%. Cataluna province in the far north east scored 10.8% obesity; the lowest rate was Navarra in the north, with 7.5% obesity. There is a negative correlation between regional GDP and obesity rates; the poorer are more obese.

Income, gender, and obesity

In Spain, obesity declines with higher income deciles (Costa-Font et al, Food Policy, Vol.33, 2007, pp.61-73). Amongst women, 24% of the lowest income decile were obese against just 6% in the highest decile. However the income variation amongst men was far less marked. Between 13% and 15% of men in all seven lowest deciles were obese, and this only declined to a 10% obesity rate in the highest decile.

South Korea, see Korea, South

Sweden

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1985			5%	5%
2000			8%	8%
2002	42%	51%
2005	16.7%	16.7%	10.7%	10.7%

Switzerland

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1992			5.3%	5.3%
1997			6.8%	6.8%
2000			7.0%	7.0%
2002	22.0%	39.0%	7.7%	7.7%
2003			5.0%	6.0%	24.0%	24.0%

Taiwan

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1994			13.2%	10.5%
1995	20%	20%	13.2%	10.5%
2000			15.9%	10.7%
2002					14.4%	15.5%	9.1%	14.7%
2005	20%	30%	17.0%	17.0%

Thailand, 2003, 4% of adults were obese.

Tunisia

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1997	28.2%	23.3%	22.7%	6.7%

Turkey,

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1990	31.7%		18.6%	18.6%
2000			21.9%	21.9%

United Arab Emirates

1999, 7.8% of children were overweight, and a further 13.7% were obese. Girls were slightly more prone to be overweight than boys, non UAE citizens more overweight than UAE citizens, and urban children were more prone to be overweight than rural.

Uruguay,

1999, 34% of adults were overweight and a further 17% were obese.

USA

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1962			13%	13%
1971			14.5%	14.5%
1973			16.6%	12.1%
1980			17.0%	12.7%			5%	5%
1990			25.9%	20.6%
2000	34%	34%	34.0%	27.7%			14%	14%
2005	37%	37%	34%	26%			16%	16%
2006	36%	36%	34.3%	34.3%
2008			34%	34%
2009			36%	36%
2010			37.5%	37.5%			17%	17%

Geography and obesity

The rural mid-west states have the lowest obesity levels, and the more urbanised states on the east and west coasts of the US, and along the Mississippi Valley, have higher levels.

2006 West Virginia is one of the worst-affected states for obesity. According to The Guardian, 4/6/05, a quarter of the state’s children are obese, as are some 27% - 35% of adults. Obesity there has doubled between 1990 and 2005. 10% of West Virginians suffer from diabetes, 33% have high blood pressure, and 28% reported doing no physical exercise over a period of one month. Other badly affected states are Alabama and Mississippi. It is no coincidence that these are also the poorest states in the USA, with high smoking and cancer rates. These states have high unemployment, a consequence of their one-time reliance on coal mining.

2007 Mississippi ranks the worst for obesity, with 31.6% of its adult population obese West Virginia, the former fattest state is now second at 30.6%, and Alabama is third fattest at 30.1%. Every state bordering Mississippi has over 29% adult obesity. Skinny Americans live in the mid-west, with Colorado the thinnest state at 18.4% adult population obese. Another skinny pocket is up in the far north-east, around Vermont, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.

Educational level and obesity

In common with the geographical factors mentioned above, obesity is strongly (negatively) correlated with highest educational level attained (D Milijkovok et al, Food Policy 2008, Vol.33, pp.48-60). However the least obese (best educated) groups have seen the largest increases in obesity since 1991. In 1991, 16.5% of those attaining ‘less than High School’ were obese, as against 8.0% of ‘College’. In 2001, the obesity prevalence for these groups was 27.4% and 15.7% respectively (p.50 ibid)

Uzbekistan

2002, 21% of women were overweight

year	Overweight women	Overweight men	Obese women	Obese men	Overweight girls	Overweight boys	Obese girls	Obese boys
1996	16.3%		5.4%
2003	21.0%

Yugoslavia, see Serbia

Sources

A large proportion of this data has been sourced from a) Obesity Reviews Journal (various dates) and b) ‘Obesity Prevention and Public Health’, ed D Crawford & RW Jeffery, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Orher sources have also contributed.