Health organisations track obesity because it makes several serious illnesses more likely. Here is what they report.
3.7 million
deaths from noncommunicable diseases in 2021 were caused by higher-than-optimal BMI, WHO estimates.
1.6 million
deaths before age 70 from diseases like diabetes, cancer and stroke were directly attributable to high BMI in 2021.
Early risk
Overweight in childhood is linked to a greater risk, and earlier onset, of diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
US$3 trillion
a year — the predicted global cost of overweight and obesity by 2030, rising to more than US$18 trillion by 2060.
Obesity and diabetes, side by side
Worldwide, the share of adults with diabetes has risen over the same years as obesity. Rising together does not by itself prove that one causes the other — but type 2 diabetes is one of the diseases WHO links to overweight (see the cards above).
World: adults with obesity
What this means6.7% in 1990 → 15.4% in 2022.
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
World: adults with diabetes
What this means6.8% in 1990 → 14.1% in 2022.
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Both charts show age-standardized WHO estimates for adults 18+. They are drawn separately on purpose: they measure different things.
Last updated
Written by the ObesitySurvey team. Not medical advice.