20 Most Obese Developed Countries in the World

Ramish Cheema
9 min read

In this piece, we will take a look at the 20 most obese developed countries in the world. For more countries, head on over to 5 Most Obese Developed Countries in the World.

While not commonly thought of this way, obesity is a disease that is also one of the deadliest in the world. Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that almost three million people die from being obese each year, which is surprising since obesity is generally thought of as being overweight. Well, the definition for obesity, according to the WHO, is when an adult person's body mass index (BMI) is greater than thirty. BMI is simply the weight in kilograms divided by the height in meters squared.

The WHO adds that obesity results in a variety of more serious medical complications, some of which are lifelong diseases. These include diabetes and cancer, as well as arthritis and heart disease. On this front, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) agrees with the WHO, as it also outlines that obesity leads to serious diseases. The UCSF narrows its attention to the U.S. as it shares that in America, 280,000 people die from obesity annually. It adds that apart from physical diseases, obese people often suffer from societal alienation, which breeds mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety to further reduce their quality of life.

As is the case with any societal or health issue that impacts people's productivity (for instance the discrimination faced by gay people), being obese also reduces one's productivity. For obesity, these economic costs are quite stunning if you haven't previously come across them. Estimates by the World Obesity Federation, a British charity, show that the economic impact of being overweight and obese can cross a whopping $4 trillion by 2035. This is equivalent to three percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP) and also mirrors the economic devastation ushered in by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Federation's World Obesity Atlas report also shares that the growth in obesity in children is also picking up the pace, with 100% more boys expected to be obese by 2035 met by an even higher 175% of girls. In terms of people, this implies that there could be 208 million obese boys and 175 million obese girls in the world during the forecast period. Geographically speaking, while the Western world (particularly America) is often thought to be more obese due to junk and fast food being readily available, the Obesity Federation believes that growth in obese people will actually come from lower income countries. Nine of the ten countries where obesity is expected to grow the most are lower or middle income countries and all of these are in Asia or Africa.

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