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Overweight and Obesity

ENLACE OVERWEIGHT/OBESITY TECHNICAL NOTES ABOUT

 

Overweight and obesity 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 data visualization shows the level, disparities across countries, and trends over time of the prevalence of overweight, obesity, severe obesity, and morbid obesity in the people aged 18 years and older by sex in countries of the Region of the Americas from 1975 to 2016.  

Regionwide in 2016, the estimated prevalence of overweight and obesity was 62.5% (64% in men and 61% in women), the highest among all WHO regions.

The United States of America, Mexico, and the Bahamas had the highest levels, while Trinidad and Tobago had the lowest.

The estimated prevalence of obesity in adults was 28% (26% in men and 31% in women) in the Americas, the highest among all WHO regions.

The prevalence of obesity in adults was higher among women than men, with the exception of Canada.

 

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 severe obesity among adults, BMI ≥ 35 kg/m² (age-standardized estimate)
  4. Prevalence of morbid obesity among adults, BMI ≥ 40 kg/m² (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: 

  • 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.

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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