Obesity rates in some countries levelling off or potentially falling, study finds

"I think the thing that's really important is this diversity exists even across countries that have really similar economic, environmental, technological features. So countries may look the same on the surface of it but obesity looks different."

"They drew on data from 4,050 population-based studies involving 232 million participants aged five years and above. They found that the prevalence of obesity increased in almost all countries over the 45-year period. However, in most high-income countries, a rapid rise in the prevalence of obesity has been replaced by a slower increase, a plateau, or a potential decline."

"The rate of growth in obesity is slowing in adults in the US and UK, reaching a prevalence of 40-43% and 27-30% respectively in 2024. Obesity is increasing steadily in Finland, has plateaued in Germany and may have started to decline in France, where 24-25%, 20-23% and 11-12% of adults respectively were thought to have the condition in 2024."

"Slowdowns were often seen in children and adolescents before adults. For the former group, the slowdown started as early as 1990 in Denmark and rates stabilised in most high-income countries by the mid-2000s. Obesity has plateaued in boys and girls in the UK, US, Germany and Japan at prevalences of 10-12%, 20-23%, 7-12% and 3-7% respectively."

Obesity rates worldwide are rising, but the increase is not uniform across countries, sexes, or age groups. Large differences exist even among countries with similar economic, environmental, and technological conditions. Researchers calculated yearly changes in obesity prevalence from 1980 to 2024 for each country using data from 4,050 population-based studies covering 232 million participants aged five and above. Obesity prevalence increased in almost all countries over the 45-year period, yet in most high-income countries the rapid rise shifted to slower growth, plateauing, or possible decline. In adults, growth slowed in the US and UK, reaching 40–43% and 27–30% in 2024. Finland continued increasing, Germany plateaued, and France showed signs of decline. Slowdowns often appeared in children and adolescents before adults, with stabilization in many high-income countries by the mid-2000s.

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