Epidemiology

Obesity represents one of the most pressing global public health and economic challenges of the 21st century. Once considered a problem limited to high-income countries, obesity has become a worldwide epidemic, affecting populations across all regions and income levels. Since the 1980s, the prevalence
of obesity among adults has risen steadily each year in both developed and developing countries, with significant implications for population health, as obesity is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers.

This section presents epidemiological data on obesity prevalence, including global estimates, regional patterns, and sex-specific differences. These data provide essential context for understanding the scale, distribution, and inequities of the obesity epidemic. For the full data, we refer to the original, recently published source which is available in the suggested reading paper at the end of this section.​