No, America Does Not Have The World’s Highest Adult Obesity Rate

Between 1990 and 2022, worldwide adult obesity rates more than tripled from 5% to nearly 16% of the global adult population.

In the following infographic, Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao maps and rank the countries with the highest adult obesity rates, measured through Body Mass Index (BMI) calculations.

Data is sourced from the World Health Organization, current up to 2022.

Ranked: The 15 Countries With an Obesity Problem

Small island nations in the Pacific have some of the highest obesity rates in the world. They also see high rates of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

A change in diet in the 20th century—relying on imported, processed foods—is generally regarded as the common cause.

Note: Figures rounded. Adult obesity measured by a body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or higher.

Egypt, Qatar, and the United States are the only countries with a population greater than 1 million on this list.

Poor food habits are once again a factor, with some cultural differences. In Egypt, high food inflation has pushed residents to low-cost high-calorie meals. To combat food insecurity, the government subsidizes bread, wheat flour, sugar and cooking oil, many of which are the ingredients linked to weight gain.

In Qatar, a country with one of the highest per capita GDPs in the world, a genetic predisposition towards obesity and sedentary lifestyles worsen the impact of rich diets.

And in the U.S., bigger portions are one of the many reasons cited for rampant adult and child obesity. For example, Americans ate 20% more calories in the year 2000 than they did in 1983. They consume 195 lbs of meat annually compared to 138 lbs in 1953. And their grain intake has increased 45% since 1970.

It’s worth noting however that this dataset is based on BMI values, which do not fully account for body types with larger bone and muscle mass.