Which country has the least fat people
Obesity Rates by Country 2024
When a person's weight is higher than what is considered healthy for their height, their condition is described as overweight or obese. Bodyweight results from several factors, such as poor nutritional choices, overeating, genetics, culture, and metabolism. Obesity is linked to many health complications and diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, certain types of cancer, and stroke. Additionally, obesity is the leading preventable cause of preventable death. Despite the negative effects these conditions can have on one's health, more people are overweight or obese today than ever before in history. In fact, obesity is considered a modern epidemic in most parts of the world. Worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975, with about 13% of adults being obese and about 39% of adults being overweight.
BMI explained
The most commonly used method of measuring obesity is the Body Mass Index, or BMI, which divides a person's weight (in kilograms) by their height (in meters) squared. Medically speaking, BMI scores break down as follows:
- BMI under 18.5 = underweight
- BMI 18.5 to <25 = healthy
- BMI 25 to <30 = overweight
- BMI 30 to <35 = obese (class 1)
- BMI 35 to <40 = obese (class 2)
- BMI 40 or higher = obese (class 3 - morbid)
BMI is not a perfect measure. In particular, it can sometimes give a "false positive" score to athletic individuals, whose high BMIs are due not to excess body fat, but to excess muscle. For example, extremely fit NFL quarterback Russell Wilson measured 5'11" tall and 215 pounds in 2016, which gave him a BMI of 30.0, or obese. NBA superstar and wellness enthusiast Lebron James had a BMI of 27.5 in 2012, which qualified as overweighta clear misdiagnosis. As a result of this inaccuracy, many medical experts are switching to waist-to-height ratio, or WHtR, which compares the circumference of a person's waist to their height. If the waist is more than half the height, (or more than 6/10 the height for those over 50), that person is obese. WHtR is considered much more accurate than BMI, but is also much newer. Over time, as it is adopted by more countries, WHtR could easily replace BMI as the de facto measure of a person's weight health.
Obesity by Country
Obesity rates vary significantly by country as a result of different lifestyles and diets. There is no direct correlation between the obesity rate of a country and its economic status; however, wealthier countries tend to have more resources to implement programs, campaigns, and initiatives to raise awareness and education people about what they are consuming. These are among the healthiest countries globally. Some regions of the world, such as the South Pacific, have seen alarming increases in obesity rates within the past five years. Some governments, such as the United States government, have launched campaigns in recent years to promote healthier lifestyles and being active.
The 10 Most Obese Countries in the World
The most obese country by average BMI is the Cook Islands, which has an average BMI of 32.9. Nauru follows with 32.5, then Niue with 32.4. Samoa and Tonga both have average BMIs of 32.2. Finishing the top ten most obese countries are Tuvalu (30.8), Kiribati (30.1), Saint Lucia (30.0), Micornesia (29.7), and Egypt (29.6). What eight of these countries have in common is being located in the South Pacific. When looking at the percentage of obese adults, the list looks a little different. The most obese country by percentage of obese adults is Nauru, with 61% of adults falling in the obese category. Cook Islands fllows with 55.9%, and Palau just under that at 55.3%. Three other countries have adult populations that are over 50% obese: the Marshall Islands (52.9%), Tuvalu (51.6%), and Niue (50%). Finishing the list are Tonga (48.2%), Samoa (47.3%), Kiribati (46.0%), Micronesia (45.8%). The Pacific island nations appear prominently, with Saint Lucia and Egypt serving as the only non-Oceania countries on either list. Type 2-diabetes is a large concern among the people of many of these countries. Multiple theories exist as to why this particular region is so susceptible to obesity, including the growth of unhealthy fast food, the rise of frying as a means of food preparation, and a possible genetic predisposition toward higher BMIs.
The United States has the 12th highest obesity rate in the world at 36.2%. Obesity rates vary significantly between states](/state-rankings/obesity-rate-by-state), ranging from 23% to 38.10%. This is due to the same dietary, environmental, and cultural factors that cause variations between countries. Diet is primarily to blame, with Americans receiving mixed messages about what they should be eating and how much of it. Faced with mouth-watering advertisements served alongside campaigns promoting daily physical activity and proper nutrition, many Americans opt for fast, cheap, and filling options such as processed packaged food, fast food, and larger portions. This often leads to a diet rich in fat, calories, and sodium (the "butter, sugar, salt" trifecta) and low in vitamins and nutrients.
Top 10 Least Obese Countries in the World
When looking at average BMI, three countries tie for the least obese country in the world, with an average BMI of 21.1: Madagascar, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. Five other countries have average BMIs under 22: Timor-Leste (21.3), Burundi (21.6), Japan (21.8), China (21.9) and India (21.9). Bangladesh (22.0) and Burkina Faso (22.1) finish the list. Japan's presence here is perhaps unsurprising given that the national dietwhich emphasizes seafood, freshness, modest portions, and minimal added sugar or dairy fatis a very healthy approach (as evidenced by the fact that Japanese life expectancy is among the highest on Earth). However, many of the other countries on this list struggle with famine and povertywhich is the wrong way to achieve a low BMI.
Most Obese Countries 2024
Obesity is a growing global concern. Data suggests the number of obese people in the world has tripled since 1975 to approximately 2.1 billionroughly 30% of the total populationand this number continues to rise.
Obesity is one of the leading causes of preventable death, dramatically decreasing not just a person's overall quality of life but also their life expectancy. Obesity puts people at higher risk for diabetes, heart disease, and even certain types of cancer. Additional health risks from diabetes include osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, kidney disease, strokes, and high blood pressure. Pregnant women who are obese may suffer from complications that can lead to health problems for the mother or child.
Because of the many health concerns associated with obesity, it can be used as a major overall health indicator of a population. The healthiest countries in the world generally have lower obesity rates.
The good and bad of BMI
One frequently used measure of obesity all over the world is Body Mass Index, or BMI. Introduced in the 1830s, this measure considers a person's weight in relation to their height. A normal BMI is 18.5 to 24.9, and a BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese.
Despite its popularity, BMI is widely considered to be a flawed metric. It fails to consider vital influencing factors such as body type, gender, age, and bone density. Moreover, BMI can't distinguish between muscle and fat.
This can lead to clearly inaccurate results, particularly in athletes. For example, professional wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in his prime was a heavily muscled picture of physical fitnessbut his 6'2" height and 252-lb (114kg) weight gave him a BMI of 32.4, classifying him as obese.
Because of results such as these, BMI is a fairly imprecise determiner of whether or not a given person is overweight. However, because of its global ubiquity, it remains the best currently available metric to use for country-to-country comparisons.
A newer, but notably more consistent test for obesity is waist-to-height ratio, or WHtR. According to WHtR, a person is obese if the circumference of their waist measures more than half their height. Thus, a WHtR of .5 or lower is healthy, and a WHtR of higher than .5 is obese (though the cutoff rises to .6 for patients aged 50 and older).
Obesity from country to country
National obesity is typically measured by examining either the average BMI of its citizens or the percentage of citizens whose BMI qualifies as obese. These methods give similar, but different results. For example, the World Health Organization's 2016 data yields the following results:
10 Most Obese Countries in the World, 2016 (measured by average BMI)*:
10 Most Obese Countries in the World, 2016 (measured by percentage of obese adults)*:
While it's easy to assume that the easy availability of rich, decadent foods in the world's wealthiest and most developed countries would make them the most obese, this isn't always the case. The United States and the United Kingdom are two of the most economically rich and developed countries globally. However, they'd place 18th and 48th respectively when ranked by BMI, and 123rd and 95th when ranked by percentage of obese adults.
Oceania seems to be especially challenged by obesity. One proposed cause is that foreigners taught the locals to fry their meals, abandoning their traditional cultivation, preparation, and preserving skills. Other possible factors include genetic predisposition; an increased tendency to replace local food sources with less nutritious imported options; and the rise of fast-food restaurants, which have replaced healthier local food (a scenario mirrored in Kuwait).
Additionally, the World Health Organization posits that the rising costs of healthy food and increased food scarcity in underdeveloped nations is a contributing factor to obesity in poor and/or developing nations and least developed nations.
10 Least Obese Countries in the World
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