Obesity

Here are some obesity statistics from the US CDC

• Obesity among adults aged 20 and over is 42.5% (2017-2018)
• Percent of adults aged 20 and over who are either overweight or obese: 73.6% (2017-2018)

Countries with low rates of obesity include Philippines 6.40%, China 6.20%, Singapore 6.10%, Sri Lanka 5.20%, South Korea 4.70%, Japan 4.30%, India 3.90%, and Bangladesh 3.60%.

Countries with high rates of obesity include: United States 36.20%, Jordan 35.50%, Saudi Arabia 35.40%, Turkey 32.10%, Lebanon 32.00%, Egypt 32.00%, Iraq 30.40%, Canada 29.40%, Australia 29.00%, Mexico 28.90%, Argentina 28.30%, South Africa 28.30%, Chile 28.00%, Syria 27.80%,  United Kingdom 27.80% and Israel 26.10%

If you want to know where your country ranks, you’ll find the 2022 stats here.

The point is that obesity varies greatly between countries. It could be described as a disease of itself, but is usually described as a disorder because it doesn’t directly threaten health—until it becomes the cause of a disease such as Type 2 Diabetes or a Heart condition.

Technically, obesity is defined by the Body Mass Index (BMI). If your BMI is 30.0 or higher, you are obese. The BMI is easy to check. Here is a website with a calculator that takes gender into account.

Obesity is the storing of excess fat by the body, caused primarily by the consumption of sugars and carbohydrates. There is a massive global industry for weight-loss products and services with revenues of about $254.9 billion (in 2022).

This alone indicates how difficult it is to lose weight. We will provide specific advice on dieting to lose weight in other postings.