TOP 10 Countries by Adult Obesity Prevalence (2025)
Obesity has become one of the defining risk factors for global health in the 21st century. According to recent WHO estimates, around 16% of adults worldwide were living with obesity in 2022, up from well under 10% in 1990. In absolute terms that means hundreds of millions of people whose daily lives and long-term health are shaped by excess body fat.
This article focuses on the ten countries with the highest adult obesity prevalence based on the latest WHO Global Health Observatory data, as compiled by Our World in Data and other international sources. The ranking is dominated by small island states in the Pacific, but high-income economies in the Americas and the Middle East also appear at the top of the list. We look at:
- the share of adults with obesity (BMI ≥ 30) in each country;
- how prevalence has evolved between 1990 and the early-2020s;
- what these trends mean for health systems, productivity and policy.
Unless otherwise noted, prevalence values are age-standardised estimates for adults 18+ and should be interpreted as indicative rather than exact point estimates. For ease of reading we refer to the situation as of “2025”, but the latest underlying datapoint is typically 2022.
Global context: obesity as a widespread chronic risk factor
Over the last thirty years, the global obesity rate has more than doubled. This reflects shifts in dietary patterns (higher consumption of ultra-processed foods, sugar-sweetened beverages and fast food), lower physical activity, and strong interactions with urbanisation and income growth. Obesity is now a major driver of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, some cancers and musculoskeletal conditions, with profound implications for health-care costs and labour markets.
The countries in the table below are at the extreme end of this distribution. Many are small Pacific island states where imported calorie-dense foods have rapidly displaced traditional diets. Others, like Kuwait or the United States, combine high incomes with car-dependent urban design and obesogenic food environments.
Table 1. Adult obesity prevalence (BMI ≥ 30), latest data — TOP 10 countries
Estimated share of adults (18+ years) with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m², age-standardised, based primarily on WHO 2022 data.
One of the highest obesity rates recorded globally. Driven by a rapid nutrition transition from traditional diets based on root crops and fish to imported, energy-dense, low-nutrient foods, combined with low levels of structured physical activity.
A small island state with a very high prevalence of obesity and diabetes. Historical economic dependence on phosphate mining and food imports has contributed to sedentary lifestyles and limited access to fresh produce.
Shares a similar risk profile with other Pacific nations: small land area, reliance on imported foods, and constrained opportunities for physical activity, especially in urbanised atolls.
Obesity has become almost the norm among adults. Efforts to promote healthier diets and community-based physical activity are ongoing, but face powerful structural and cultural barriers.
A Caribbean upper-middle-income country where rising obesity is closely linked to urbanisation, tourism-driven food environments and a high intake of processed foods and sugary drinks.
Another Pacific state with very high obesity and diabetes prevalence. Geography, limited agricultural land and dependence on imported foods create a strong structural obesogenic environment.
A small high-income island country where obesity is prevalent among both men and women, reflecting the combination of high-calorie diets and limited everyday physical activity.
Dispersed atolls, climate vulnerability and heavy reliance on imported food create a challenging context for healthy eating and active living.
High obesity prevalence coexists with food insecurity, highlighting the “double burden” of malnutrition common in small island developing states.
A high-income Gulf country with widespread obesity among both men and women. Key drivers include car-dependent urban design, year-round heat limiting outdoor activity, high consumption of energy-dense foods and limited opportunities for active transport.
Note: Values are rounded and based mainly on WHO 2022 estimates. Small differences in published rankings can occur across sources depending on age standardisation and measurement year.
Table 2. Adult obesity prevalence 1990 vs 2022 and growth
For the same ten countries, this table summarises approximate adult obesity prevalence (BMI ≥ 30, age-standardised) in 1990 and 2022, based on WHO/Our World in Data series. It also shows the increase in percentage points (p.p.) and relative growth (%), illustrating how quickly obesity has risen.
Across these ten countries, obesity prevalence has roughly doubled or more since 1990, underscoring how quickly food systems and lifestyles have changed.
Bar chart: adult obesity prevalence in high-prevalence countries
The bar chart below compares adult obesity prevalence (BMI ≥ 30, age-standardised) for the ten countries in Table 1 using the latest WHO/Our World in Data estimates.
Note: values are approximate and rounded. The y-axis shows the share of adults (18+) with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m².
Long-term trends: obesity 1990–2025 in selected countries
To put the high-prevalence countries into perspective, it is helpful to track obesity trends in a set of large and influential economies. The line chart below uses WHO/Our World in Data series to show the evolution of adult obesity prevalence in four countries between 1990 and the early-2020s: the United States, Mexico, Kuwait (Gulf state) and New Zealand (an OECD leader in obesity).
Values are approximate and rounded, but they illustrate a common pattern: steady, almost linear growth over multiple decades, with no sign of sustained large-scale reversals.
Example values (approximate, % of adults with BMI ≥ 30): United States ≈ 23% in 1990 to ≈ 43% in 2022; Mexico ≈ 14% to ≈ 36%; Kuwait ≈ 22% to ≈ 45%; New Zealand ≈ 13% to ≈ 34%.
What rising obesity means for health systems and economies
1. From rare condition to baseline health risk
In 1990, only a small share of adults in most countries met the BMI threshold for obesity. Today, obesity is a baseline health risk for large segments of the population. In some Pacific and Gulf states, a majority of adults are living with BMI ≥ 30, and many more are overweight. That means higher rates of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke and certain cancers, often emerging at younger ages than in previous generations.
2. A growing burden in working-age adults
In countries such as Mexico, Kuwait and New Zealand, overall obesity prevalence is highest in middle-aged adults, but the trend among younger cohorts is especially concerning. When obesity starts in the 20s or 30s, people spend more years exposed to metabolic risk, increasing cumulative damage to the cardiovascular, endocrine and musculoskeletal systems. For employers and governments, this translates into higher absenteeism, lower productivity, and greater disability and pension costs.
3. Inequalities within countries
Obesity is unevenly distributed within populations. In the United States, prevalence is higher among low-income groups, some racial and ethnic minorities, and residents of specific regions. In Mexico and New Zealand, rural communities and low-income urban neighbourhoods often face food environments dominated by cheap, calorie-dense products and limited availability of fresh, healthy foods. In Gulf countries, rapid economic development and car-centred cities have changed lifestyles faster than norms around diet and physical activity, leaving younger generations particularly exposed.
4. Fiscal pressure and health-system capacity
Global modelling studies suggest that obesity and overweight are already responsible for millions of premature deaths each year and a substantial share of health-care expenditure. For health systems in high-prevalence countries, this means:
- more demand for chronic disease management (diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis);
- increased need for bariatric surgery, rehabilitation and long-term care;
- pressure on health-care workforce planning, as obesity-related conditions become a dominant workload in primary care and specialty clinics.
For lower-income countries and small islands, the challenge is even more acute, because they must finance long-term obesity-related care with limited health budgets, while still struggling with infectious diseases and undernutrition.
Policy responses: from individual advice to structural change
Evidence from WHO, the Global Burden of Disease project and multiple national strategies points to a consistent conclusion: individual counselling is not enough. To stabilise or reverse obesity trends, high-prevalence countries need coordinated action at several levels:
- Food environments: fiscal and regulatory measures such as sugar-sweetened beverage taxes, restrictions on marketing to children, front-of-pack labelling, and support for healthier school meals.
- Urban design and transport: cities built around walking, cycling and public transport rather than exclusive car use, along with safe public spaces for physical activity.
- Early-life interventions: promotion of breastfeeding, maternal nutrition programmes, and prevention of childhood obesity, which is a strong predictor of adult obesity.
- Access to effective treatment: equitable coverage for evidence-based weight-management programmes, including lifestyle interventions, pharmacotherapy and bariatric surgery when appropriate.
- Monitoring and research: robust data systems to track obesity and related risk factors over time, disaggregated by age, sex, region and socioeconomic status.
For Pacific island states, these measures must be adapted to local contexts, including the high cost of importing fresh foods and the impact of climate change on fisheries and agriculture. For Gulf countries, key levers include urban planning, workplace wellness and food-policy reform. In OECD countries like the United States and New Zealand, a major challenge is overcoming political and commercial resistance to tighter regulation of food and beverage markets.
Data sources and further reading
- Our World in Data — Obesity — global and country-level series for adult obesity since 1990.
- Our World in Data — Obesity in adults (BMI ≥ 30) — underlying WHO Global Health Observatory data (1990–2022).
- World Health Organization — Obesity and overweight fact sheet — global prevalence and health impacts.
- World Obesity Federation — Global Obesity Observatory rankings — rankings of countries by adult obesity prevalence.
- Lancet / Global Burden of Disease — global and national trends in adult overweight and obesity, 1990–2021.
- Country-specific time series for the United States, Mexico, Kuwait and New Zealand (adult obesity).
You can download the Excel file with both tables and high-resolution images of the charts as a single ZIP archive.
Download ZIP (adult_obesity_top10_assets.zip)
