Obesity: international data

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) publishes comparable statistics on health and health systems across OECD countries (available on the OECD website). The prevalence of obesity (and people who are overweight), as defined by BMI, is included under body weight in the non-medical determinants of health section under the health theme.

Estimates of male and female obesity prevalence across OECD countries are shown in Chart 1 and Chart 2 respectively. These estimates are based on national health interview surveys in which obesity estimates are based on the actual measurement of weight and height as opposed to self-reports. Estimates arising from the actual measurement of weight and height are significantly higher than those based on self-report (Dauphinot et al 2009). Please note that the age ranges covered and methodology used by these national health surveys vary by country, details of the age ranges are included with the chart data above (see Definitions, Sources and Methods per country section).

The 2019 OECD report, The Heavy Burden of Obesity: the Economics of Prevention, provides further information on obesity prevalence in OECD countries and an evaluation of policies to reduce the burden of obesity. A 2012 policy brief presents an update of the analyses of trends and social disparities in obesity.

The World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Health Observatory presents world data on obesity and mean body mass index with interactive maps to show differences across the world. WHO's Ending Childhood obesity report 2016 presents data on the level of overweight and obesity within children worldwide.