Global, regional, and national prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adults during 1980-2013

According to a comprehensive study published in the medical journal The Lancet, almost one third of the global population is overweight or obese. Approximately 2.1 billion people fall into those two categories, with 671 million defined as clinically obese. 

The report found that the highest rates of obesity are in the Middle East and North Africa: 60 percent in men and 65 percent in women. The United States is home to 13 percent of the world’s obese population, a higher proportion than any other country.The study shows that prevalence of overweight and obesity has also increased in children and adolescents in developing countries, from 8·1% to 12·9% in 2013 for boys and from 8·4% to 13·4% in girls. It turns out that, in the past 33 years, no one country has managed to reduce its rate of obesity; it is an issue affecting people of all ages and incomes, everywhere.

A summary article and the full text of the study can be found on the website of The Lancet (PDF).