20 Obesity facts from around the world: how does your country stack up?

Obesity is Everywhere. It’s an epidemic which means that it is a very wide-spread problem. Epidemics do not need to be contagious, but there are reports that obesity is, in fact, contagious. My blog alycevayleauthor.com is read by people in many countries, so I thought I’d check the obesity statistics of the countries that read this blog. How does your country stack up?

AUSTRALIA:This is my home country and yes, we are a nation of boom-bahs. There is a prediction that 30% of the Australian population will be obese by 2020, and 30 % overweight.

AUSTRALIA: The prevalence of obesity and diabetes – 16 times more in cities of over 10 million people than in the countryside.

SWEDEN: Although the prevalence of obesity in Sweden still is low in an international perspective, the prevalence of obesity in adults has doubled during the last two decades and is now approximately 10% in both men and women.

SWEDEN: Recent data from non-urban areas in the northern part of Sweden estimate the prevalence of overweight 10-year-olds to above 30%.

UNITED KINGDOM: In Birmingham, over 25% of the population are obese – the third highest rate in the UK.

UNITED KINGDOM: On average, being obese decreases life expectancy by nearly 10 years.

UNITED STATES: Annual medical expenditures attributable to obesity have doubled in less than a decade, and may be as high as $147 billion per year,

UNITED STATES: Percent of adults age 20 years and over who are obese: 35.9% (2009-2010) Percent of adults age 20 years and over who are overweight, including obesity: 69.2% (2009-2010).

INDIA: Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in India in the 21st century, with morbid obesity affecting 5% of the country’s population.

CANADA: One in four adult Canadians and one in 10 children are clinically obese, meaning six million Canadians living with obesity require immediate support in managing and controlling their excess weight.

NEW ZEALAND: Obesity is more prevalent in New Zealand, females from age 5 until the age of 34, at which time the males overtake the females in terms of percentage. After essentially coming in at a dead heat in the 55 to 64 bracket, female obesity becomes a higher risk for 65-74 year olds than it does for males, only to switch odds again after 75.

SINGAPORE: The latest National Health Survey shows the obesity rate has increased in Singapore, from 6.9 per cent in 2004 to 10.8 per cent this year.

GERMANY: The number of overweight people in Germany has stagnated between 1998 and December 2011. However, the number of truly obese people have increased. 67.1% of all men between 18 and 79 are considered overweight with a BMI of 25 or greater.

MALAYSIA: Malaysia is the fattest country in South-East Asia with its obesity rate on the rise. 5.1% of Malaysians aged 18 and above were suffering from obesity as of 2011.

ITALY: Believe it or not!! Overall, the Italians, along with the French and the Swiss, are considered among the slimmest people in Europe on average. In Europe, Italy was the only country where the average weight dropped.

GREECE: “Greece today is the EU state with the highest average body mass index and highest prevalence of overweight [people] and obesity,” says the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation report.

If you would like a recent list of how your country ranks, check this link here.

SOURCES:

• Australia
• Sweden
• United Kingdom
• India
• Malaysia
• Greece