Americas · Country profile
Obesity in Antigua and Barbuda
34.6% of adults live with obesity (2024). That ranks 40th highest of 199 countries.
34.6%
of adults live with obesity (2024)
Likely range 24.5%–45.2%
Source: WHO
26 thousand
adults with obesity (estimated number)
WHO rate × UN population
Source: WHO; UN WPP 2024
24.2%
of children & teens (5–19) live with obesity (2024)
Source: WHO
#40
highest adult obesity out of 199 countries
#1 = highest share
Source: WHO
The story of Antigua and Barbuda in numbers
In 2024, about 34.6% of adults in Antigua and Barbuda were living with obesity — about 1 in 3 adults, according to World Health Organization estimates (the likely range is 24.5% to 45.2%). That is roughly 26 thousand people aged 18 and over.
That is higher than the world average of 16.2%, and ranks 40th highest out of 199 countries. It is about level with the average for WHO’s Americas region (34.4%).
Back in 1980, the figure was 8.6%. Since then it has gone up by 26.0 percentage points — about 4.0 times the 1980 level. In people, that is a change from about 3,000 to 26 thousand adults, partly because the population itself changed.
Women are more likely to live with obesity than men: 43.6% compared with 24.5%.
Among children and teenagers aged 5 to 19, 24.2% were living with obesity in 2024, compared with 4.3% in 1980 — around 4,000 young people.
For context, 20.4% of adults had diabetes in 2022, 38.1% of adults did not get enough physical activity in 2022 and the food supply provided about 2,544 calories per person per day in 2023. These numbers don’t prove what causes obesity, but they help paint the picture.
How it changed
Adults with obesity in Antigua and Barbuda: men, women and the world
What this meansSince 1980, the share of men went from 4.2% to 24.5%, and women from 12.0% to 43.6%.
- Men
- Women
- World
Show the numbers as a table
| Year | Men | Women | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 4.2% | 12.0% | 5.4% |
| 1985 | 5.4% | 14.4% | 6.0% |
| 1990 | 6.9% | 17.3% | 6.7% |
| 1995 | 9.0% | 20.7% | 7.6% |
| 2000 | 11.6% | 24.6% | 8.7% |
| 2005 | 14.5% | 28.6% | 10.1% |
| 2010 | 17.2% | 32.5% | 11.5% |
| 2015 | 19.6% | 36.5% | 13.0% |
| 2020 | 22.2% | 40.4% | 14.6% |
| 2024 | 24.5% | 43.6% | 16.2% |
Age-standardized WHO estimates. Shaded bands show the 95% uncertainty range.
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Children & teens (5–19) with obesity in Antigua and Barbuda
What this meansSince 1980, the share of boys went from 3.7% to 22.6%, and girls from 4.9% to 25.7%.
- Boys
- Girls
BMI-for-age more than 2 standard deviations above the WHO growth reference median.
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Antigua and Barbuda compared (2024)
What this meansHow Antigua and Barbuda’s adult obesity rate compares with its region, countries at a similar income level, and the world.
- Antigua and Barbuda34.6%
- Americas (WHO region)34.4%
- High income countries24.7%
- World16.2%
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Food supply: calories per person per day in Antigua and Barbuda
What this meansThe food available per person went from 1,953 calories a day in 1961 to 2,544 in 2023. This counts food available, not food actually eaten.
- Antigua and Barbuda
- World
Countries ranked nearby
- 35. Uruguay34.9%
- 38. Saint Lucia34.8%
- 39. Paraguay34.7%
- 40. Antigua and Barbuda34.6%
- 40. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines34.6%
- 42. Bermuda34.1%
- 43. New Zealand34.0%
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