TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Obesity is one of the health problems in most countries in the world highlighted by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Quoting from the WHO, by 2022, as many as 2.5 billion adults aged 18 years and over are overweight and as many as 890 million fall into the obese category.

In addition to adults, it is also estimated that as many as 37 million children under the age of 5 are overweight.

In some cases, obesity can be caused by several things, such as environment, genetics, and psycho-social factors.

If left untreated, obesity can lead to a series of more severe health problems. Therefore, it is important to prevent obesity early on.

To better understand which countries have the highest obesity rates in the world, here is the information for you.

Countries with the Highest Obesity Rates in the World

Data on the countries with the highest obesity rates in the world can be seen from the results of the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC) research.

NCD-RisC is a network of world health scientists who examine obesity trends in 222 million children, adolescents, and adults in 200 countries.

The research was conducted by recording the Body Mass Index (BMI) of adults aged 20 years and over and children.

Adults can be considered obese if they have a BMI of at least 30 kilograms/m2. Meanwhile, children are declared obese if they exceed BMI above 2 standard deviations (SD) from the standard child growth medium.

The results of the NCD-RisC research on obesity levels in a number of countries in the world are as follows:

Countries with the Highest Rates of Male Childhood Obesity

The following are the 10 countries with the highest rates of male childhood obesity in the world.

1. Niue: 42.86 percent

2. Cook Islands: 40.91 percent

3. Nauru: 39.66 percent

4. Tokelau: 37.95 percent

5. Chile: 32.86 percent

6. American Samoa: 32.53 percent

7. Tuvalu: 31.94 percent

8. Palau: 31.70 percent

9. Tonga: 31.30 percent

10. Qatar: 29.28 percent

Countries with Highest Rates of Female Childhood Obesity

In addition to boys, the following countries have high rates of childhood obesity among girls.

1. Niue: 34.32 percent

2. Cook Islands: 34.01 percent

3. Tonga: 33.87 percent

4. Bahamas: 31.75 percent

5. Tuvalu: 22.70 percent

6. Nauru: 26.84 percent

7. Tokelau: 26.80 percent

8. American Samoa: 25.71 percent

9. Antigua and Barbuda: 25.20 percent

10. Samoa: 24.37 percent

Countries with the Highest Adult Male Obesity Rates

Not only children, here is a list of 10 countries with the highest adult male obesity rates.

1. American Samoa: 70.29 percent

2. Nauru: 69.65 percent

3. Tokelau: 67.05 percent

4. Cook Islands: 66.05 percent

5. Niue: 63.71 percent

6. Tonga: 63.37 percent

7. Tuvalu: 57.53 percent

8. Samoa: 52.83 percent

9. French Polynesia: 47.02 percent

10. United States of America: 41.64 percent

Countries with the Highest Rates of Adult Female Obesity

Finally, the 10 countries with the highest rates of adult female obesity are as follows.

1. Tonga: 81.46 percent

2. American Samoa: 81.42 percent

3. Samoa: 74.93 percent

4. Tokelau: 74.90 percent

5. Tuvalu: 73.17 percent

6. Cook Islands: 73.11 percent

7. Nauru: 72.52 percent

8. Niue: 70.79 percent

9. Egypt: 58.99 percent

10. Federated States of Micronesia: 57.45 percent

This is the information about the list of countries with the highest obesity rates in the world. Hope you find it useful.

AULIA ULVA

Editor's Choice: Half of the World Population will Be Overweight by 2035, Report Says

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News