Obesity myths vs facts

❌ Myth: Obesity is only a problem in rich countries.

✅ Fact: In 2024, 16.7% of adults in upper-middle-income countries and 12.0% in lower-middle-income countries lived with obesity, compared with 24.7% in high-income countries (WHO).

❌ Myth: Obesity only affects adults.

✅ Fact: Among 5–19-year-olds worldwide it went from 1.1% in 1980 to 8.2% in 2024 (WHO).

❌ Myth: A country has either hunger or obesity — not both.

✅ Fact: Undernutrition and obesity often exist side by side — in the same country, the same community and even the same household. (WHO)

❌ Myth: It has always been this common.

✅ Fact: When the US first measured adults in 1959–1962, 13.4% of 20–74-year-olds had obesity. In Aug 2021–Aug 2023 it was 40.8% (CDC surveys, our calculation).

❌ Myth: BMI tells you exactly how much body fat you have.

✅ Fact: BMI cannot tell fat from muscle and bone, and it doesn’t show what type of fat someone has or where it sits in the body. (CDC)

❌ Myth: What people report about their weight is as accurate as measuring it.

✅ Fact: In the US, self-reported surveys give lower obesity figures than measured ones — see how data is collected.