Research
Energy balance
Severe and morbid obesity are increasing globally, with significant regional disparities, particularly in Polynesia and Micronesia.
Severe obesity is becoming more common, especially in certain regions. This is a serious health risk that requires attention and support, not stigma.
StrongSupportsVERY_HIGH confidence
2·3% (2·0–2·7) of the world’s men and 5·0% (4·4–5·6) of women were severely obese (ie, have BMI ≥35 kg/m²).
Why this rating
Large pooled analysis.
Source
Trends in adult body-mass index in 200 countries from 1975 to 2014: a pooled analysis of 1698 population-based measurement studies with 19·2 million participants
Mariachiara Di Cesare et al. · The Lancet · 2016
DOI 10.1016/s0140-6736(16)30054-x
cohort · n=19200000Cited 5,255×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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- Global adult body-mass index (BMI) has significantly increased from 1975 to 2014, with obesity prevalence surpassing underweight prevalence in the majority of countries by 2014.Strong
- Underweight prevalence has decreased globally but remains a significant public health problem in specific regions, particularly South Asia and parts of Africa.Strong
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