Overweight prevalence: ten destinations and the USA

Adults with BMI 25 or higher, both sexes. Eleven country-level benchmarks, with the USA shown as the baseline.

Dot matrix chart showing how many of every 100 adults are overweight in six selected destinations and the USA

Each panel represents 100 adults; filled dots are the WHO all-adult, both-sexes overweight prevalence measure. The USA is red.

Download the chart (PNG)

What the chart says

  1. Country averages vary widely across the same shortlist. That is a population-health comparison, not a prediction about any person you will meet.
  2. Do not mix this number with the women-only BMI cards. This is a WHO all-adult, both-sexes prevalence estimate; the other cards use NCD-RisC women aged 20–39.

All 11

The full country-level set shown in the image, ordered by adult overweight prevalence.

#MarketAdults overweight, both sexesWomen’s heightWomen’s BMI, 20–39Women’s implied weight
1Vietnam20.0%158.4 cm21.654.1 kg
2Japan24.4%158.5 cm21.052.8 kg
3Kenya32.1%159.4 cm24.061.1 kg
4South Korea36.7%163.2 cm22.259.1 kg
5Philippines37.3%154.1 cm23.355.3 kg
6Thailand47.2%159.4 cm24.562.4 kg
7Ukraine56.2%166.6 cm25.269.9 kg
8Colombia61.1%158.0 cm25.463.3 kg
9Brazil65.0%162.4 cm25.767.9 kg
10USA71.4%163.3 cm27.773.9 kg
11Mexico74.2%157.9 cm27.368.2 kg

Overweight means BMI ≥25 in adults 18+, age-standardized, both sexes (WHO). Height, BMI and implied weight columns are included for context but use different populations and vintages.

Where this is wrong

Sources

WHO Global Health Observatory, latest 2024 estimate.

City-level ratio, cost and safety are on the research desk.

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