Research
Macro partitioning
There is a curvilinear (inverted-U) relationship between GDP per capita and BMI: weight gain increases with development in low-income countries but decreases or levels off in high-income countries.
In developing economies, rising wealth often leads to higher obesity rates due to dietary changes. However, as countries become wealthier, these rates tend to stabilize or decrease, suggesting that long-term development can improve health outcomes.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
There was also evidence of a curvilinear relationship between GDP per capita and BMI: among low income countries, economic growth predicted increases in BMI whereas among high-income countries, higher GDP predicted lower BMI.
Why this rating
Robust regression analysis showing distinct trends for HIC vs LMIC.
Source
What is driving global obesity trends? Globalization or “modernization”?
Ashley Fox et al. · Globalization and Health · 2019
DOI 10.1186/s12992-019-0457-y
cross_sectional · n=190Cited 218×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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