Epidemiology of Obesity and Overweight Trends
Summary
Obesity and overweight have emerged as global public health challenges, driven by multifactorial influences including dietary transitions, sedentary lifestyles and socio-economic disparities. Over the past several decades, mean body mass index (BMI) has risen in both high-income and middle-income regions, with notable variation across age groups, sexes and geographical zones. Epidemiological surveillance has revealed stabilisation in some areas, juxtaposed with continued increases elsewhere, reflecting the complex interaction of policy interventions, urbanisation and cultural norms. The persistent burden of obesity and associated comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes underscores a pressing need for robust population-level strategies. Recent data highlight the heterogeneity of trends, from rapid increases among younger adults in urban centres to widening socio-economic inequalities in resource-constrained settings. Effective responses necessitate interdisciplinary approaches that integrate nutrition policy, community design, health education and equitable access to preventive services.
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Epidemiology of Obesity and Overweight Trends publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in epidemiology of obesity and overweight trends across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Body Mass Index (BMI): A ratio of weight to height squared (kg/m2) used to categorise underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity.
Abdominal obesity: Excess fat accumulation around the waist, often measured by waist circumference, associated with elevated metabolic risk.
Prevalence: The proportion of a population with a condition at a specified time point.
Cross-sectional study: An observational design assessing exposure and outcome at a single time point to estimate prevalence.
Systematic review and meta-analysis: A structured method to identify, appraise and quantitatively synthesise results from multiple studies.
References
- The prevalence and associated factors of overweight/obesity and abdominal obesity in South-eastern of Iran: a cross-sectional study based on Rafsanjan cohort study. BMC Public Health (2023).
- Worse becomes the worst: obesity inequality, its determinants and policy options in Iran. Frontiers in Public Health (2024).
- Prevalence of Obesity and Overweight among Adults in the Middle East Countries from 2000 to 2020: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis. Journal of Obesity (2022).
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