Health > Obesity: Countries Compared
Author: chris.lockyer781
The most common value used to measure obesity is the Body Mass Index (BMI) because it is inexpensive and simple to obtain. BMI is computed as the weight in kilograms divided by the value of the height in meters squared. In adults, individuals with BMI between 25 and 29.9 are considered overweight, while those with BMI at 30 and above are obese.
Description
Obesity is associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality. In the US, a prospective cohort study showed that being overweight increases the risk of death by 20 t0 40% while obesity increases it up to three-fold compared to individuals with normal weight. It is also closely linked to the development of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, musculoskeletal disorders and some types of cancer.
Obesity is considered a global epidemic. Its prevalence is continuously monitored through the Global Database on BMI of the WHO. Between 1998 and 2008, the global prevalence of obesity has doubled. It rose from 5% to 10% in men and from 8% to 14% in women worldwide.
The prevalence of obesity differs between regions and between high and low income countries. It is highest in the WHO Regions of the Americas (26%) and lowest in South East Asia (3%). The rate of obesity increases with the income level of a country. Countries with upper middle and high income have more than double the rates of those in the lower middle and low income countries.
Obesity rates are higher in women than in men worldwide. In low and lower middle income countries, these rates are almost double that of men. In higher income countries, they are similar.
There are multiple factors associated with obesity. Genetics, the environment and human behavior play important roles in the development of obesity. Excess energy intake coupled with decreasing energy expenditure are vital components in this growing epidemic. Studies show that the amount and energy density of food intake per individual in the US has been increasing over time.
Physical inactivity is also an important factor related to obesity. Two proxy measures for this factor are car ownership and amount of television viewing. For every additional hour spent watching TV, there is a 2% increased risk of obesity. Other important factors include the availability and price of food, and access to facilities for physical activity and exercise.
Compared to other high income countries, Japan’s obesity rate is very low. Several factors are thought to influence this. The average person in Japan consumes 200 calories less per day than the average person in the US. Food prices and the cost of automobiles are higher. On the average, each Japanese above 15 years of age walks almost 4 miles per day.
(1) Adams KF, Schatzkin A, Harris TB, et al. Overweight, obesity, and mortality in a large prospective cohort of persons 50 to 71 years old. N Engl J Med 2006 Aug 24;355(8):763-778.
(2) Senauer B, Gemma M. 2006. Why is the obesity rate so low in Japan and high in the U.S.? Some possible economic explanations. http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/14321/1/tr06-02s.pdf
(3) Nguyen DM, El-Serag HB. The epidemiology of obesity. Gastroenterol Clin North Am 2010 March; 39(1):1-7
(4) World Health Organization. Global Health Observatory: Obesity. http://www.who.int/gho/ncd/riskfactors/obesitytext/en/
(5) World Health Organization. World Health Statistics 2013. http://www.who.int/gho/publications/worldhealthstatistics/ENWHS2013Full.pdf
CONTENTS
Citation
Statistics for Health > Obesity
Interesting observations about Health > Obesity
- United States ranked first for obesity amongst High income OECD countries in 2003.
- Japan ranked last for obesity amongst Group of 7 countries (G7) in 2003.
- All of the top 2 countries by obesity are Christian.
- United Kingdom ranked first for obesity amongst European Union in 2003.
- 19 of the bottom 22 countries by obesity are European.
- Australia ranked first for obesity amongst Non-religious countries in 2003.
- Italy ranked last for obesity amongst Eurozone in 2003.
- France ranked third last for obesity amongst NATO countries in 2003.
- Canada ranked second last for obesity amongst English speaking countries in 2003.
- Switzerland ranked last for obesity amongst Western Europe in 2003.
5
The most common value used to measure obesity is the Body Mass Index (BMI) because it is inexpensive and simple to obtain. BMI is computed as the weight in kilograms divided by the value of the height in meters squared. In adults, individuals with BMI between 25 and 29.9 are considered overweight, while those with BMI at 30 and above are obese.
Description
Obesity is associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality. In the US, a prospective cohort study showed that being overweight increases the risk of death by 20 t0 40% while obesity increases it up to three-fold compared to individuals with normal weight. It is also closely linked to the development of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, musculoskeletal disorders and some types of cancer.
Obesity is considered a global epidemic. Its prevalence is continuously monitored through the Global Database on BMI of the WHO. Between 1998 and 2008, the global prevalence of obesity has doubled. It rose from 5% to 10% in men and from 8% to 14% in women worldwide.
The prevalence of obesity differs between regions and between high and low income countries. It is highest in the WHO Regions of the Americas (26%) and lowest in South East Asia (3%). The rate of obesity increases with the income level of a country. Countries with upper middle and high income have more than double the rates of those in the lower middle and low income countries.
Obesity rates are higher in women than in men worldwide. In low and lower middle income countries, these rates are almost double that of men. In higher income countries, they are similar.
There are multiple factors associated with obesity. Genetics, the environment and human behavior play important roles in the development of obesity. Excess energy intake coupled with decreasing energy expenditure are vital components in this growing epidemic. Studies show that the amount and energy density of food intake per individual in the US has been increasing over time.
Physical inactivity is also an important factor related to obesity. Two proxy measures for this factor are car ownership and amount of television viewing. For every additional hour spent watching TV, there is a 2% increased risk of obesity. Other important factors include the availability and price of food, and access to facilities for physical activity and exercise.
Compared to other high income countries, Japan’s obesity rate is very low. Several factors are thought to influence this. The average person in Japan consumes 200 calories less per day than the average person in the US. Food prices and the cost of automobiles are higher. On the average, each Japanese above 15 years of age walks almost 4 miles per day.
(1) Adams KF, Schatzkin A, Harris TB, et al. Overweight, obesity, and mortality in a large prospective cohort of persons 50 to 71 years old. N Engl J Med 2006 Aug 24;355(8):763-778.
(2) Senauer B, Gemma M. 2006. Why is the obesity rate so low in Japan and high in the U.S.? Some possible economic explanations. http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/14321/1/tr06-02s.pdf
(3) Nguyen DM, El-Serag HB. The epidemiology of obesity. Gastroenterol Clin North Am 2010 March; 39(1):1-7
(4) World Health Organization. Global Health Observatory: Obesity. http://www.who.int/gho/ncd/riskfactors/obesitytext/en/
(5) World Health Organization. World Health Statistics 2013. http://www.who.int/gho/publications/worldhealthstatistics/ENWHS2013Full.pdf
Posted on 14 Apr 2014
chris.lockyer781
396 Stat enthusiast
2
"Morbid obesity" means that a person is either 50%-100% over normal weight, more than 100 pounds over normal weight, has a BMI of 40 or higher, or is sufficiently overweight to severely interfere with health or normal function.
Learn more at <a href="http://www.triumph.rs/index.php/triumph-srbija-grudnjaci-sa-zicom">Triumph Grudnjaci</a> or <a href="http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/what-is-obesity">www.webmd.com/diet</a>
Posted on 22 Jan 2012
Daria
2
When I travel, now I live in Russia, the biggest factor is age where people of both sexes tend to be slim or normal until after 40. It is very rare rare to see an obese child.
I am also seeing a change, that seems to align with change in lifestyles. In the last 10 years the number of meals eaten away from home has increased dramatically particularly for young adults who tend to live in coffee shops, sushi cafes, pubs and fast food places, none of which really existed 10 years ago. There has been a great increase in the number of cars and a reduction in walking but not to the extent as in the US where many regions are just impossible to live in without driving a great deal and walking very little.
I have noticed a steady, but modest increase in weight with teens and young adults in the last few years in Russia.
So we have a situation where a large mass of people have gone from home cooking, a great deal of walking daily, to a much more sedentary life, and western style fast food. The increase is visible but not even close to the increase in weight seen in young children or teens in the US. When I was in high school in the 60s, we had one fat boy in a class of 3,000. His was likely organic because he tried very hard with daily exercise in PE and a special lot fat meal at lunch and at home, no fast food was allowed in his home.
Visiting the same neighborhood is shocking where 50% are overweight, with many 14 year old kids obese. There is no PE program anymore so most kids get no exercise at all.
A study that analyzed food production, minus waste, plus food importing into the US a couple years ago and divided that mass of food, without regard to type of food, by the population for a per capita consumption and projected the weight that would result based on common models and found that the mass of food was enough to account for the average weight of the country regardless if it came in the form of fast food or unprocessed natural foods.
Portion size in fast food outlets probably are more responsible than quality of food, portions in restaurant are really too big in the US. The finer the restaurant, however, tend to have smaller portions, and lighter patrons.
The US problem with declining health and fitness of young people compared to 40-75 years ago is a serious problem, because later life health problems are closely related fitness in teen years. Weight added, by women after age 60 or so has very little impact on health, they tend to carry it well if added late. If added early in age it is a very negative indicator. Same with men.
It is a pleasure to socialize in much of Europe and Russia because of the high levels of education and people tend to be fit and well groomed which are traits that the US used to have decades ago, but no more.
Posted on 07 Jan 2012
Stan Jacox
2
and also immigrants tend to have lower obesity rates and better health outcomes in general and the length of residence in US actually is highly associated with increased BMI among recent immigrants. To blame obesity in the US to immigrants and minority is not correct.
Posted on 24 Jul 2011
hyyrak
1
Posted on 16 Apr 2005
Edria Murray, Staff Editor
1
Posted on 11 Apr 2005
Ian Graham, Staff Editor
1
Posted on 14 Apr 2005
Ian Graham, Staff Editor
0
Hi @nt. The data is from 2002 and 2003 and was collated in 2005.
Posted on 07 Apr 2011
Staff Editor
0
One of the major factors contributing to this is poor nutrition (particularly the high availability of cheap junk food and pervasiveness of high fructose corn syrup), and there is a good chance that this is also a factor in the high rates of mental illness, crime, and mass shootings in the US.
Posted on 30 Dec 2012
Dandroidian
0
From Wikipedia:" Nauruans are the most obese people in the world: 97 per cent of men and 93 per cent of women are overweight or obese.[78] As a result, Nauru has the world's highest level of type 2 diabetes, with more than 40 per cent of the population affected.[79] Other significant dietary-related problems on Nauru include kidney disease and heart disease. Life expectancy on Nauru in 2009 was 60.6 years for males and 68.0 years for females.[80]"
Posted on 23 Dec 2012
ThousandDemons
0
And it's also available as Android native application on google paly (it can be installed on your Android devices). The application is named BmiScores and can be found at: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=bmiscores
I hope this helps.
Posted on 15 Jul 2012
NewEra
0
Posted on 12 Mar 2012
John Cena
0
balanced diet also give you;
1.healthy skin that can enhance your confidence level
2.produce mental relaxing to prevent stress
3.prevention from diet disease to live longer
4.burst up energy level for everyday used
5.give a better and quality sleep for a sweet dreams:D
6.nice s-line.. agagagaga>>>
anyway, balanced diet is super duper good and give many benefits, though almost all human being in this world know, but only a few take action to it...
SAY YES TO BALANCED DIET!!!!
Posted on 16 Jan 2012
wawa
0
Posted on 15 Oct 2011
Jason
0
It can be real. If you live here (in Slovakia), just look around, how many people have a beer belly.
Obesity is not only about people, who can't walk because of body weight.
Just yesterday was in newspaper SME about more sport for school kids, because 18% kids is obese and other 7% is overweight
http://www.sme.sk/c/6036318/jurzyca-chce-opat-znamkovat-telocvik.html
And when they grow up, start going to work, they will have even less sport activity and that result in more obesity.
This numbers are 8 years old and this problem is growing. Now percents are for sure higher and maybe our position in this sad rank can be higher too.
Posted on 01 Sep 2011
Lukas
0
Pacific Island nations are the most obese, Nauru is nearly 100% obese.
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/fattest-place-earth-12533987
Posted on 16 Aug 2011
Mark
0
Posted on 28 Jul 2011
Lady
0
Posted on 23 Jul 2011
Steve
0
Details are in Http://Medical-Recipe.com/CalculateMyBmi.html
Posted on 03 Dec 2010
Hemanth
0
Posted on 29 Mar 2011
Steven Gordon
0
Posted on 17 Aug 2009
Nealoren
