The body-metric cheat sheet: ten destinations and the USA
One view, three different measures: all-adult overweight prevalence, women’s BMI at 20–39, and women’s height at age 19.
Each column has a different population and source vintage. Compare within a column, never across columns.
What the chart says
- One metric cannot answer every question people try to load onto it. The graphic keeps all-adult prevalence, women’s BMI, and women’s height visibly separate.
- These are country means, not personal measurements. They are population context, not a beauty score or a dating-market measure.
All 11
The full country-level set shown in the image, ordered by mean female BMI.
| # | Market | Adults overweight, both sexes | Women’s height | Women’s BMI, 20–39 | Women’s implied weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 24.4% | 158.5 cm | 21.0 | 52.8 kg |
| 2 | Vietnam | 20.0% | 158.4 cm | 21.6 | 54.1 kg |
| 3 | South Korea | 36.7% | 163.2 cm | 22.2 | 59.1 kg |
| 4 | Philippines | 37.3% | 154.1 cm | 23.3 | 55.3 kg |
| 5 | Kenya | 32.1% | 159.4 cm | 24.0 | 61.1 kg |
| 6 | Thailand | 47.2% | 159.4 cm | 24.5 | 62.4 kg |
| 7 | Ukraine | 56.2% | 166.6 cm | 25.2 | 69.9 kg |
| 8 | Colombia | 61.1% | 158.0 cm | 25.4 | 63.3 kg |
| 9 | Brazil | 65.0% | 162.4 cm | 25.7 | 67.9 kg |
| 10 | Mexico | 74.2% | 157.9 cm | 27.3 | 68.2 kg |
| 11 | USA | 71.4% | 163.3 cm | 27.7 | 73.9 kg |
Mean BMI is NCD-RisC's women 20–39 estimate. Implied weight combines this BMI with a separate age-19 height estimate and is therefore approximate.
Where this is wrong
- A country mean does not describe any individual or city.
- BMI is not a measure of attractiveness, health for an individual, or relationship compatibility.
Sources
NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC), women aged 20–39, 2016 release.
The separate height-vs-BMI view is in the full chart library.
More charts
A two-axis view makes it clear why BMI and weight should not be treated as the same number.
The per-market deep-dives — 13 tabs of cost, visa, tax, safety and sub-national ratio for one country — are behind the Pro gate. Everything on this page is not.