Prevalence of overweight in North America
North America: Prevalence of overweight was 71.0% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of overweight in North America, 1990–2022
Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/). Measured in % of adults.
Analysis
The most recent figure for prevalence of overweight in North America is 71.0%, measured in 2022. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 5.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight in North America peaked at 71.0% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 50.5%, in 1990.
That places North America 1st out of 43 groups with data for 2022, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Prevalence of overweight in North America, year by year
| Year | % of adults | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 50.5% | — |
| 1991 | 51.5% | +2.0% |
| 1992 | 52.6% | +1.9% |
| 1993 | 53.5% | +1.9% |
| 1994 | 54.5% | +1.8% |
| 1995 | 55.5% | +1.8% |
| 1996 | 56.4% | +1.7% |
| 1997 | 57.4% | +1.7% |
| 1998 | 58.3% | +1.6% |
| 1999 | 59.2% | +1.5% |
| 2000 | 60.1% | +1.5% |
| 2001 | 60.9% | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 61.7% | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 62.5% | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 63.2% | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 63.9% | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 64.5% | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 65.1% | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 65.7% | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 66.2% | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 66.7% | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 67.1% | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 67.5% | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 67.8% | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 68.2% | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 68.6% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 68.9% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 69.3% | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 69.6% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 70.0% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 70.3% | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 70.7% | +0.5% |
| 2022 | 71.0% | +0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 55.0% | 50.5% | 59.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 63.4% | 60.1% | 66.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 68.4% | 66.7% | 70.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 70.7% | 70.3% | 71.0% | 3 |
Countries ranked near North America
More health data for North America
- Population ages 60-64, female, per capita 0.0315 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 65-69, female, per capita 0.0299 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 65-69, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 20-24, male, per capita 0.0339 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 65-69, female, annual growth rate 1.32 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 60-64, male, per capita 0.0311 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 60-64, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 25-29, female, annual growth rate 0.2706 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 60-64, male, annual growth rate -0.5906 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, male, annual growth rate -0.5946 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of overweight in North America?
- Prevalence of overweight in North America was 71.0% 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 North America?
- The highest recorded value was 71.0% in 2022.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 50.5% in 1990.
- How does North America rank for prevalence of overweight?
- North America ranks 1st out of 43 groups with data for 2022.
- Is prevalence of overweight rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North America 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.