In these countries most often suffer from obesity. Countries ranked by obesity: USA in first place, Japan in last

As a rule, many people call America the first country where a large number of people are overweight. But in fact, everything is not so simple. There are many more states where obesity of the population is, if not a national disaster, then at least a serious problem. We will tell you about those 10 countries that occupy a leading position in the ranking of countries with the highest percentage of people who are overweight or obese. So let's get started!

10. Opens our list Malta. Yes, yes, this small island nation ranks first in Europe in terms of the number of overweight people. Approximately one in five citizens of this country is overweight. And this is 80 thousand people!

9. A step higher was the southern neighbor of the United States - Mexico. Overweight among the population began to turn into a problem about 30-35 years ago, when a stream of fast food flooded into the country. This led to a deterioration in eating habits. Ultimately, almost one in three Mexicans is overweight (and that's 40 million people). Because of this, the authorities have declared overweight as a disease of the nation.

8. Next on our list - Belize. And they have another feature with Mexico (in addition to common borders) that unites them - a large number of overweight people. In Belize, with a population of just under 350,000, about 35% percent (more than 100,000!) have weight problems. The authorities are trying to fight them, and the Ministry of Health is even issuing recommendations on the principles of a healthy diet. But for now, the problem remains quite acute.

7. Another country that suffers from overweight is Kuwait. Every second woman in this country has extra pounds, and more than 40% of the total population of the country have the last stages of obesity (and this is more than 1 million people). The problem has several causes. Among them is the use of a large amount of fried and meat (in particular, red).

6. Continuing the theme of the Middle East, it is worth mentioning one more country where the number of overweight people makes you sound the alarm. It - United Arab Emirates. Few would dare to say that the Emirates are not a rich country, because many have seen those palaces that are being erected by sheikhs and emirs. But the price to pay for such wealth is quite high - 19 out of 40 people are overweight, and more than half a million people (13% of the country's population) are obese. Such depressing figures have arisen due to excessive consumerism and the fast food market leaps and bounds.

5. In the middle of our list was another country in the Arab world - Libya. It's hard to believe, but more than half of the women in Libya suffered from overweight problems (data are given as of 2013). But now the problem is no longer so acute. This was made possible thanks to a more rational approach to nutrition, and now there are much fewer overweight people in Libya - about 30%.

4. Next in our ranking is another island country where overweight has become a real disaster. It - Kingdom of Bahrain with a population of 1.5 million people. And, according to United Nations reports, two-thirds of the population of this small state are obese. Childhood obesity is also a serious problem - 4 out of 10 girls and almost a third of adolescent boys are overweight. Don't miss the fact that over 200,000 people have diabetes!

3. "Bronze" of our list goes to Venezuela with a population of over 30 million people. Scientists have found that more than two-thirds of the population over the age of 20 is obese. The reason for this is an unbalanced diet. Due to declining wealth, many people buy themselves cheap and filling food with a lot of fat. And carbohydrates and proteins are just those trace elements that are lacking in the diet.

2. "Silver" in our rating was the state called USA. As of September 2015, in some states, the percentage of people who are overweight is 35%. Despite fluctuations from state to state, about two-thirds of the entire US population is obese. Associated with this is a huge death rate from diseases associated with overweight, and increasing costs of medical care.

1. The small state closes our list Nauru. In a population of just over 10,000, almost 95% of the population is overweight, and more than 70% of people are diagnosed as obese. The reasons for such “records” are the unsuitability for agriculture of 9 out of 10 hectares of the territory and the import of a large amount of food containing carbohydrates.

This concludes our material. Thank you for your attention, dear readers. Watch your health, and let it never let you down.

Over the past 30 years, the number of obese people has skyrocketed from 857 million in 1980 to over 2 billion in 2013. That's about a third of the world's population.

In 2010 alone, between 3 million and 4 million people died of complications from obesity.

Basically, when they talk about obesity, they remember the United States, but this is not the only country in which the problem of obesity of the population is now relevant.

People all over the world have become more sedentary as they work mostly at the computer and in addition receive high-calorie foods such as fast food and sugary drinks.

Therefore, obesity has become a real epidemic in many countries of the world and a serious threat to public health.

According to forecasts, the situation will only worsen if appropriate measures are not taken.

A new Global Burden of Disease study reveals the 10 countries with the highest rates of obesity.

Body mass index

Body mass index (BMI) is a weight-for-height ratio used to classify obesity and overweight.

The index is calculated as the ratio of body weight in kilograms to the square of height in meters (kg/m2).

According to WHO definition:

◾BMI greater than or equal to 25 - overweight

◾BMI greater than or equal to 30 - obese

If the trend towards obesity continues, then by 2030, exactly half of the adult population in the United States will suffer from this disease.

This conclusion was reached by the researchers of the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

By this year, 13 states were reported to have a population obesity rate of 60%, with 39 states just above 50%. In total, in 50 US states, the obesity rate has reached 44%.

The study also reports that the combined medical costs associated with obesity treatment and side effects could rise by $48 billion to $66 billion a year.

And the losses from the decline in labor productivity in the economy as a whole could amount to $390-580 billion annually by 2030.

As for other countries, for example, according to the OECD, the crisis has only exacerbated the situation with obesity in developed countries. People did not eat less, but switched to cheaper and less healthy foods.

In fact, obesity can be considered a kind of indicator of the state of the world economy, and so far this indicator indicates that we have not overcome the crisis. After all, we are talking not only about the transition to cheap products, but also about the fact that many people are still sitting idle, and therefore without movement. This is another reason why the world is gaining weight so fast.

“Before 1980, the ratio of healthy to obese people in OECD countries was even less than one in ten. In the following decades, the rate of spread of the problem accelerated two to three times. At the moment, already 18% of adults in OECD countries suffer from obesity," the report says.

In the past five years, we have seen a deterioration in dynamics, although the pace is no longer growing as fast as it was in past decades. One in five children in OECD countries is overweight.

In some countries, such as Greece, Italy, Slovenia and the United States, the ratio reaches 1 to 3. The researchers argue that the difficult financial situation of families, which in some countries was exacerbated by austerity programs, has led to the spread of the problem of obesity.

Moreover, citizens with poor education and low social status are more likely to gain excess weight. They take less care of their health and cannot afford exercise and an active lifestyle.

"While there is evidence that reduced work hours and unemployment are pushing people towards outdoor activities, in fact, against the backdrop of continued growth in unemployment, the effect of reducing work-related activity appears to be stronger than this factor," the report says. OECD.

Among women, the gap is especially noticeable. For example, in England, women who received a poor education are 1.6 times more likely to gain weight.

Interestingly, in some OECD countries, after the crisis, the rich also began to get fat. For example, this is happening in Mexico and the United States, where in recent years obesity is spreading among educated people even faster than among those who have not received a good education.

And in Australasia, a region that includes Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea and some nearby countries, there is the largest increase in the proportion of obese people in the world, from 16% in 1980 to 34%. The region also recorded the strongest increase in the disease among the adult female population from 17% to 30%.

"Over the past three decades, no country has made progress in reducing obesity rates, and we expect obesity to rise steadily as incomes rise in low- and middle-income countries unless urgent action is taken," the University professor said. Melbourne Rob Moody.

People who are overweight are more prone to a number of diseases, including heart disease. They have difficulty doing work that requires physical activity. If unemployment falls too slowly and governments do not spend money on fighting obesity, the result will be a decrease in labor productivity, a blow to demographics, and therefore to the prospects of countries.

Over 33 years, the number of fat people has increased by 2.5 times

It would seem that a country that has always passed the TRP standards, was proud of ballet and sporting achievements, this trouble will never touch. We condescendingly looked at the obese Americans and felt sorry for these unfortunate people who can hardly move under the unbearable weight of their own bodies.

However, now it's time to feel sorry for ourselves - Russia has rapidly broken into fourth place in the world in terms of the number of obese people. After the USA, China and India.

However, as Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Marina Shestakova notes, if we count not by the absolute number, but by the prevalence of obesity, we are still only in 19th place. Yet experts call the situation extremely alarming.

Fast food, physical inactivity, ecology - there are many reasons for the rapid growth in the number of obese people. A few centuries ago, a person had to honestly earn his piece of bread by back-breaking physical labor. Today, both bread and meat can be delivered directly to your home. We have become much more, move much less. To sustain life, we need 1200-1400 kcal per day, and we usually eat an average of 2500 kcal. No wonder the obesity epidemic in the world is growing like a snowball. Recently, the results of a large-scale international study that lasted 33 years and included 188 countries were summed up. During this time, the number of obese people has increased by 2.5 times. But most of all experts are concerned about the increase in overweight children. “A completely new problem has appeared, which 10-15 years ago did not exist at all - obesity and type II diabetes in children,” says Marina Shestakova. “We are now diagnosing diabetes in ten-year-olds.”


Today, the most recognized criterion for obesity in the world is the body mass index (BMI), which is calculated using a simple formula: weight must be divided by height squared. The gold standard is considered to be a BMI up to 25 (but not less than 18.8!). BMI from 25 to 30 indicates overweight, and above 30 - about different degrees of obesity (30-40 - stage 1, more than 40 - morbid obesity).

“However, today the Americans propose to revise this classification and diagnose obesity not by BMI, but by the combination of complications in an overweight person,” continues Professor Shestakova.

Obese people have many health problems. The main one is diabetes. By the way, the same study also showed an increase in the number of patients with type II diabetes by the same 2.5 times. It has been proven that an increase in BMI by only 1 unit (that is, a weight of only 2.5-3 kg) increases the risk of diabetes immediately by 12%. The next problem of overweight people is a whole range of cardiovascular diseases. This is followed by oncological diseases of various organs, primarily the stomach and intestines. Behind them - diseases of the joints. We must not forget about fatty degeneration of the liver, which is also directly related to extra pounds. Obesity is the cause of 30% of cases of gallstone disease and 75% of cases of hepatic steatosis. And do not forget about the pathologies of the kidneys, the reproductive system, thrombosis and even skin diseases (obesity reduces immunity). For example, in 2 million women, infertility is caused precisely by obesity.

“Today, the World Health Organization defines obesity as a chronic disease that leads to the development of concomitant somatic diseases,” notes Professor of the Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Propaedeutics of Internal Diseases of the First Moscow State Medical University. Sechenova Marina Zhuravleva.

Of course, the main cause of obesity is overeating. Most often, overweight parents from childhood teach their children to “not starve” by laying plates with a slide on them. “Such children repeat the lifestyle of their parents and have the same problems in the future,” sighs Marina Shestakova. More often, socially disadvantaged segments of the population suffer from the problem of excess weight - after all, the cheapest food is also the most high-calorie. In addition, there are more obese people in cities - according to one study, for example, Moscow ranked first among 15 regions of the country in terms of the prevalence of obesity. Well, the most dangerous age in terms of the development of obesity is 29-49 years. Just at this time, people achieve certain success in their careers, change to cars, sit out their pants in offices.

In the United States, radical measures have already been taken - the mandatory medical insurance of residents included operations to install special balloons in the stomach, which, in simple terms, do not allow a person to overeat. In our country, such methods are treated with caution and are used only in cases of serious indications. As for the treatment of obesity, the approaches to each patient should be strictly individual.

“It all depends on the severity of the problem. Someone will be helped by homeopathy, someone will need serious medical treatment - drugs that suppress appetite. However, patients need to understand when they should see a doctor. I believe that the alarm should be sounded already when your BMI has reached the upper limit of normal. Obesity starts at 29.9, and you need to act if your BMI is over 25, says Marina Zhuravleva.

At the same time, according to experts, such people require consultations of several specialists: a therapist, a neurologist, an endocrinologist, a cardiologist, and sometimes a psychiatrist. “It is important that a doctor who sees an obese patient at least for a runny nose sends him for an examination for excess weight. But we don’t have this culture yet,” Shestakova complains.

Professor Zhuravleva gives eloquent figures showing how much money our country is losing because of those who eat too much. Thus, the loss of GDP from cardiovascular diseases over the past 10 years amounted to 8.2 trillion rubles. At the same time, 18% of men and 28% of women developed heart ailments solely due to excess weight. The country spends 71 ​​billion rubles a year on treating strokes, of which 10.5 billion are spent on treating strokes caused by overweight problems. “One in seven could not get sick if they followed the figure,” Marina Zhuravleva clarifies. Losses from myocardial infarction are estimated in the country at 36 billion rubles annually; losses from a heart attack caused by excess weight - 12.8 billion. “This money would be better spent on the fight against obesity,” Zhuravleva sighs. The situation is even worse with diabetes, the treatment of which costs 407 billion, of which 306.8 billion are for cases associated with obesity. Recently, the social program "Slender Russia" has even started in Russia.


Doctors remind about the need for proper nutrition and the importance of movement. For example, just 6 hours of immobility per day (for example, sitting at a computer) increases the risk of diabetes by a factor of three! The risk of diabetes and obesity is 3.5 times higher in children who drink only 200 ml of sugary soda per day!

The easiest way to increase your physical activity is to briskly walk for at least 20 minutes daily. In general, try to move at every opportunity. As for nutrition, preference should be given to fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as fish and lean meats. Butter, mayonnaise, fried foods, pork and other fatty foods would be good to exclude altogether. In addition, reduce salt intake, and drink alcoholic beverages in moderation - they are not only high in calories (each gram of alcohol contains 7 kilocalories), but also increase appetite.

However, doctors also do not advise bringing the fight against weight to the point of absurdity. “For example, in older people, an increase in BMI to 25-27 is an absolutely normal phenomenon, which is even a protection against the development of diseases,” says Marina Shestakova.

Fighting obesity costs the world's population $2 trillion annually.

Every third Russian of working age has problems with being overweight. 15% of men and 28.5% of women are obese, 54% of men and 59% of women are overweight.

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