Prevalence of overweight in Latin America & Caribbean
Latin America & Caribbean: Prevalence of overweight was 65.3% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of overweight in Latin America & Caribbean, 1990–2022
Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/). Measured in % of adults.
Analysis
Latin America & Caribbean recorded 65.3% for prevalence of overweight in 2022. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.1% on the previous year and up 13.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 65.3% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 39.3%, in 1990.
Latin America & Caribbean ranks 4th of 43 groups on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Prevalence of overweight in Latin America & Caribbean, year by year
| Year | % of adults | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 39.3% | — |
| 1991 | 40.2% | +2.3% |
| 1992 | 41.1% | +2.2% |
| 1993 | 42.0% | +2.2% |
| 1994 | 42.8% | +2.1% |
| 1995 | 43.7% | +2.1% |
| 1996 | 44.6% | +2.0% |
| 1997 | 45.5% | +1.9% |
| 1998 | 46.3% | +1.9% |
| 1999 | 47.2% | +1.8% |
| 2000 | 48.0% | +1.8% |
| 2001 | 48.8% | +1.7% |
| 2002 | 49.6% | +1.6% |
| 2003 | 50.4% | +1.6% |
| 2004 | 51.1% | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 51.9% | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 52.7% | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 53.5% | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 54.3% | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 55.1% | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 55.9% | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 56.7% | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 57.6% | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 58.4% | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 59.2% | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 60.0% | +1.3% |
| 2016 | 60.8% | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 61.5% | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 62.3% | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 63.0% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 63.8% | +1.2% |
| 2021 | 64.5% | +1.2% |
| 2022 | 65.3% | +1.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 43.3% | 39.3% | 47.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 51.5% | 48.0% | 55.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 59.5% | 55.9% | 63.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 64.5% | 63.8% | 65.3% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean
More health data for Latin America & Caribbean
- Population ages 05-09, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 65 and above, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, male, annual growth rate 1.78 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, female, per capita 0.033 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, female, annual growth rate 1.72 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, male, per capita 0.0344 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, male, per capita 0.0369 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of overweight in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Prevalence of overweight in Latin America & Caribbean was 65.3% in 2022, according to World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).
- What is the highest prevalence of overweight recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The highest recorded value was 65.3% in 2022.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The lowest recorded value was 39.3% in 1990.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for prevalence of overweight?
- Latin America & Caribbean ranks 4th out of 43 groups with data for 2022.
- Is prevalence of overweight rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/), published as part of Prevalence of overweight (% of adults). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 33 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Prevalence of overweight adults is the percentage of adults ages 18 and over whose Body Mass Index (BMI) is more than 25 kg/m2. Body Mass Index (BMI) is a simple index of weight-for-height, or the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters.