Table 1.
Prevalence of overweight individuals in 1975 and 2016 by WHO region and sex
| WHO region | 1975 Prevalence of overweight individuals (%) | 2016 Prevalence of overweight individuals (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Male | Female | |
| Global | 20.0 (17.6–22.7) | 22.7 (20.3–25.4) | 38.5 (36.5–40.6) | 39.2 (37.3–41.1) |
| Africa | 7.9 (4.9–12.3) | 15.0 (11.3–19.3) | 22.8 (20.1–25.7) | 38.8 (36.2–41.7) |
| Americas | 37.0 (32.0–42.2) | 36.1 (31.5–40.9) | 64.1 (61.3–66.9) | 60.9 (58.1–63.8) |
| South-East Asia | 4.7 (2.7–7.2) | 7.0 (4.8–9.8) | 19.7 (16.5–23.1) | 24.1 (21.0–27.4) |
| Europe | 39.1 (34.7–44.0) | 38.8 (34.5–43.5) | 63.1 (60.7–65.6) | 54.3 (51.7–56.9) |
| Eastern Mediterranean | 19.3 (14.7–24.5) | 27.6 (22.0–33.5) | 45.4 (42.2–48.7) | 52.6 (49.6–55.7) |
| Western Pacific | 10.1 (7.2–13.9) | 11.9 (8.9–15.4) | 33.7 (29.3–38.3) | 29.6 (25.8–33.4) |
Values are presented as median (range). Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Health Observatory (2016).1