List of countries by Body Mass Index (BMI)

This page serves as a partial list of countries by adult mean body weight and incidence of obese and overweight populations as calculated by body mass index.

The data for 2014 was first published by the World Health Organisation in 2015.

Methodology

Main article: Body mass index

Mean Body Mass Index (BMI) provides a simplified measure of the comparative weight of populations on a country by country basis. BMI calculates a person's mass (weight) divided by the square of their height. An individual with a BMI of 25 kg/m2 or more is considered overweight. An individual with a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or more is considered obese.

The data highlighted on this page comes from World Health Organisation statistics for adult (18 years old and older) populations. Mean BMI data is shown separately for males and females, as well as a combined figure. Mean data highlights the central tendency of the population data and is but one method of calculating relative body weight between populations.

Limitations on the usefulness of comparative BMI data

There are significant limitations to the usefulness of comparative BMI data cited by both the medical community and statisticians.[1] BMI data has significant weaknesses in terms of scalability and in accounting for variations in physical characteristics.

WHO Data on Mean BMI (2014)

Data published in 2015.[2]

Country Overall
rank
Overall mean
BMI (kg/m2)
Female
rank
Female mean
BMI (kg/m2)
Male
rank
Male mean
BMI (kg/m2)
 Nauru132.5432.8132.1
 Cook Islands232.3532.6132.1
 Niue232.3333.1331.4
 Tonga431.9133.5430.4
 Samoa531.7133.5529.9
 Kuwait630.0830.8629.5
 Saint Kitts and Nevis729.7730.91428.4
 Kiribati829.61030.51128.7
 Saint Lucia829.61130.2928.9
 Micronesia1029.4631.02427.8
 Palau1029.42129.5729.4
 Tuvalu1229.31629.91128.7
 Egypt1329.2930.72827.6
 Marshall Islands1329.21430.01428.4
 Qatar1329.21330.1829.0
 United Arab Emirates1629.01729.71328.6
 Belize1728.91130.23427.5
 Jordan1728.91729.71728.2
 Bahamas1928.81929.61828.0
 United States of America1928.82928.81028.8
 Barbados2128.71430.04027.4
 Trinidad and Tobago2128.72329.42227.9
 Saudi Arabia2328.53128.71628.3
 Antigua and Barbuda2428.42129.54627.3
 Libya2428.41929.64827.2

WHO Data on Prevalence of Obesity (BMI ≥ 30kg/m2) (2014)

Data published in 2015.[3]

Country Overall
rank
Overall prevalence
of obesity
(%)
Female
rank
Female prevalence
of obesity
(%)
Male
rank
Male prevalence
of obesity
(%)
 Cook Islands150.8155.1146.6
 Palau247.6252.2243.1
 Nauru345.6351.6439.7
 Samoa443.4451.3836.0
 Tonga543.3550.1736.4
 Niue643.2749.0537.7
 Marshall Islands742.8848.9636.9
 Qatar842.3649.7340.0
 Kiribati940.6948.51232.9
 Tuvalu1040.31046.41034.5
 Kuwait1139.71145.9935.5
 Micronesia1237.21343.71431.0
 United Arab Emirates1237.21245.11133.8
 Fiji1436.41642.31530.8
 Bahamas1536.21542.51829.7
 Vanuatu1635.41741.51929.4
 Bahrain1735.11442.81630.5
 Saudi Arabia1834.71841.41729.9
 United States of America1933.73234.71332.6
 Libya2033.11939.52626.6
 Lebanon2131.92437.72826.3
 Barbados2231.32238.23524.4
 Trinidad and Tobago2331.12338.03724.1
 Antigua and Barbuda2430.92038.74622.8
 Oman2430.92437.72327.2
 Jordan2630.52138.64922.7
 Andorra2729.55130.52028.5
 Turkey2729.52935.84522.9
 New Zealand2929.24830.82227.7
 Egypt3028.92637.57320.3
 Australia3128.66028.82128.4
 Mexico3228.13833.14622.8
 United Kingdom3228.15729.22426.9
 Canada3428.05829.12526.8
 France6523.98724.03923.8
 Italy8821.010621.67220.4
 Sweden9220.512118.65122.5
 Germany9420.112218.55821.9
 Brazil9820.09822.79417.3
 Japan1843.31903.21593.4

WHO Data on Prevalence of Overweight (BMI ≥ 25kg/m2) (2014)

Data published in 2015.[4]

Country Overall
rank
Overall prevalence
of overweight
(%)
Female
rank
Female prevalence
of overweight
(%)
Male
rank
Male prevalence
of overweight
(%)
 Cook Islands181.0182.7179.4
 Palau279.3281.0377.6
 Qatar378.1878.9277.8
 Nauru477.8380.2475.5
 Marshall Islands575.8678.9772.7
 Kuwait675.41175.8575.2
 Niue774.9978.41071.4
 Tonga874.8579.61269.9
 Samoa974.3480.01669.1
 United Arab Emirates1074.01175.8673.1
 Tuvalu1173.21076.81469.6
 Kiribati1273.1678.92567.4
 Bahrain1371.71574.01170.2
 Fiji1478.21374.72367.8
 Saudi Arabia1569.61771.92268.0
 Bahamas1669.01871.53066.3
 Micronesia1768.91474.54763.7
 Lebanon1868.72070.12567.4
 Libya1868.71970.92966.5
 Vanuatu2067.91673.45662.6
 Oman2167.42269.83366.1
 United States of America2267.34662.6872.1
 Andorra2366.95261.9972.0
 Turkey2466.32368.54464.1
 Jordan2565.92170.06062.0
 Canada2664.45759.81769.0
 Mexico2664.43265.65263.1
 Australia2864.06858.11269.9
 New Zealand2864.05959.71868.5
 Malta2864.06159.61868.5
 United Kingdom3263.46558.82168.1
 Spain4760.98155.73166.2
 France4860.78954.72767.1
 Italy6363.49453.74364.3
 Sweden8855.911548.85263.1
 Germany9954.812447.25462.7
 Brazil10363.49852.88355.6
 Japan16724.219019.713429.0

References

  1. Olson, Samantha (9 February 2016). "BMI Is No Longer A Good Indication Of Healthy Weight; Here Are 6 Better Ways To Measure Your Health". Medical Daily.
  2. "Health Topics, Obesity". World Health Organisation. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  3. "Health Topics, Obesity". World Health Organisation. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  4. "Health Topics, Obesity". World Health Organisation. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
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