Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in North America
North America: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male was 10.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in North America, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
North America recorded 10.5% for prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 2.2% on the previous year and up 14.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in North America peaked at 10.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 8.3%, in 2000.
That places North America 2nd out of 45 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in North America, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 8.3% | — |
| 2001 | 8.4% | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 8.5% | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 8.5% | +0.8% |
| 2004 | 8.6% | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 8.7% | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 8.7% | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 8.8% | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 8.8% | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 8.9% | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 8.9% | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 8.9% | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 9.0% | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 9.1% | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 9.1% | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 9.2% | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 9.3% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 9.3% | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 9.5% | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 9.6% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 9.7% | +1.5% |
| 2021 | 9.9% | +1.5% |
| 2022 | 10.0% | +1.8% |
| 2023 | 10.2% | +2.0% |
| 2024 | 10.5% | +2.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.6% | 8.3% | 8.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.2% | 8.9% | 9.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.1% | 9.7% | 10.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near North America
- 1 Australia 27.8% compare
- 2 Papua New Guinea 19.5% compare
- 3 Turks and Caicos Islands 19.4% compare
- 4 Tunisia 18.5% compare
- 5 Albania 17.7% compare
More health data for North America
- Population ages 55-59, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, female, per capita 0.0297 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, male, annual growth rate -0.5946 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 15-19, female, per capita 0.0314 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 60-64, female, annual growth rate -0.6806 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 60-64, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 15-19, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 15-19, male, annual growth rate 0.3175 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, male, per capita 0.0301 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in North America?
- Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in North America was 10.5% in 2024, according to Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
- What is the highest prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male recorded in North America?
- The highest recorded value was 10.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.3% in 2000.
- How does North America rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male?
- North America ranks 2nd out of 45 groups with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North America data come from?
- The figures come from Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), published as part of Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male (modeled estimate, % of children under 5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Prevalence of overweight, male, is the percentage of boys under age 5 whose weight for height is more than two standard deviations above the median for the international reference population of the corresponding age as established by the WHO's 2006 Child Growth Standards.