Obesity rates are plateauing in wealthy countries but accelerating everywhere else — and the gap is bigger than most people think
A study published in Nature analysed data from 232 million people across 200 countries between 1980 and 2024. The short version: in most of Western Europe, childhood obesity started slowing in the 1990s and has largely levelled off. France adult obesity sits around 11%. The US is at 43%.
Meanwhile in large parts of Africa, Southeast Asia, and Pacific Island nations the rate is still climbing - and speeding up. In Tonga and Cook Islands over 65% of adults are now obese.
What stood out: researchers specifically pushed back on calling this a single "global epidemic" because the trajectories are so different by country, age group, and sex. Sugar taxes were cited as one of the few interventions with measurable population-level impact, even if modest.