Body Mass Index Statistics in 2026: Global, U.S., and OECD Data

Body mass index statistics at a glance

Body mass index statistics are useful because they turn a broad public health topic into measurable categories, time trends, and geographic patterns. The numbers below show that BMI-related weight patterns are not static: they vary by age, sex, education, geography, and country group, and the scale is large enough to affect health systems and national budgets.

Fast facts

WHO said more than 1 billion people were living with obesity globally (WHO obesity fact sheet).
WHO said 2.5 billion adults aged 18+ were overweight in 2022 (WHO obesity fact sheet).
WHO said over 890 million adults were living with obesity in 2022 (WHO obesity fact sheet).
CDC reported adult obesity prevalence of 40.3% during August 2021?August 2023 (CDC Data Brief 508).
CDC said adult obesity remains above the Healthy People 2030 goal of 36.0% (CDC Data Brief 508).
OECD reported that, on average across 32 OECD countries, 54% of adults were overweight or obese in 2021 (OECD obesity topic page).

What BMI means in the statistics
Global body mass index statistics
U.S. body mass index statistics
State and demographic patterns
OECD and international comparison
Why the numbers matter

What BMI means in the statistics

BMI is used as a screening measure, so the definitions matter before the percentages do.

According to the CDC, adult BMI categories include underweight, healthy weight, overweight, and obesity (CDC BMI page). The CDC defines adult obesity as BMI greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 and child and teen obesity as BMI at or above the 95th percentile for sex and age (CDC BMI page).

The WHO uses similar adult thresholds, defining overweight as BMI greater than or equal to 25 and obesity as BMI greater than or equal to 30 (WHO obesity fact sheet). For younger groups, the WHO defines obesity in ages 5?19 as BMI-for-age greater than 2 standard deviations above the WHO Growth Reference median and overweight as greater than 1 standard deviation above the median (WHO obesity fact sheet).

For children under 5, the WHO uses weight-for-height standards instead of adult-style BMI cutoffs. Under that framework, overweight is weight-for-height greater than 2 standard deviations above the WHO Child Growth Standards median, and obesity is greater than 3 standard deviations above the median (WHO obesity fact sheet).

Why that definition layer matters

Adult and pediatric measures are not interchangeable.
BMI categories are screening categories, not diagnoses by themselves.
Prevalence figures depend on which definition, age band, and reference population are being used.
When a stat says ?obesity,? it may refer to adult BMI, child BMI-for-age, or a specific survey framework.

Global body mass index statistics

The big picture

The global story is simple and large at the same time: BMI-linked overweight and obesity are widespread, rising, and expensive.

WHO said 16% of adults aged 18+ worldwide were obese in 2022 (WHO obesity fact sheet). In the same year, 43% of adults aged 18+ were overweight (WHO obesity fact sheet). Those numbers help explain why BMI is one of the most cited health indicators in public health reporting.

The WHO also said adult overweight prevalence rose from 25% in 1990 to 43% in 2022 (WHO obesity fact sheet). That is a major long-run shift, and the increase is broad enough to show up across both sexes: 43% of men aged 18+ were overweight in 2022 and 44% of women aged 18+ were overweight in 2022 (WHO obesity fact sheet).

Global obesity and overweight figures

Measure	Statistic	Source
Adults overweight, 2022	2.5 billion	WHO obesity fact sheet
Adults living with obesity, 2022	over 890 million	WHO obesity fact sheet
Adults overweight, 2022	43%	WHO obesity fact sheet
Adults obese, 2022	16%	WHO obesity fact sheet
Adult overweight prevalence, 1990	25%	WHO obesity fact sheet
Adult overweight prevalence, 2022	43%	WHO obesity fact sheet

The WHO also said worldwide obesity prevalence more than doubled between 1990 and 2022 (WHO obesity fact sheet). That framing is useful because it shows the issue is not just high in absolute terms; it is also moving in the wrong direction over time.

Children and adolescents

BMI statistics for younger age groups show the same direction of pressure, though the measurement framework changes with age.

WHO estimated 35 million children under 5 were overweight in 2024 (WHO obesity fact sheet).
WHO said almost half of overweight or obese children under 5 in 2024 lived in Asia (WHO obesity fact sheet).
WHO said the number of overweight children under 5 in Africa increased by nearly 12.1% since 2000 (WHO obesity fact sheet).
WHO said over 390 million children and adolescents ages 5?19 were overweight in 2022 (WHO obesity fact sheet).
WHO said overweight prevalence among ages 5?19 rose from 8% in 1990 to 20% in 2022 (WHO obesity fact sheet).
WHO said 19% of girls ages 5?19 were overweight in 2022 and 21% of boys ages 5?19 were overweight in 2022 (WHO obesity fact sheet).
WHO said obesity among ages 5?19 rose from 2% in 1990, or 31 million young people, to 8% in 2022, or over 160 million young people (WHO obesity fact sheet).

Those figures show that BMI-related weight change is not confined to adults. The distribution across age bands suggests different intervention windows, from early childhood to adolescence.

Key global takeaways

The world now has both a high overweight base and a high obesity base.
Adult overweight is more common than adult obesity, but both are at scale.
The child and teen data show that BMI patterns are established early and persist.
The 1990-to-2022 comparison shows a long-term rise, not a short-term fluctuation.

U.S. body mass index statistics

The U.S. numbers show how BMI-related obesity concentrates by age, sex, and education while remaining broadly common across the adult population.

CDC Data Brief 508 reported adult obesity prevalence of 40.3% during August 2021?August 2023 (CDC Data Brief 508). In the same period, obesity prevalence was 39.2% in men and 41.3% in women (CDC Data Brief 508).

The age split is even more revealing:

46.4% among adults ages 40?59 (CDC Data Brief 508).
35.5% among adults ages 20?39 (CDC Data Brief 508).
38.9% among adults ages 60+ (CDC Data Brief 508).

U.S. adult obesity by age and sex

Group	Obesity prevalence	Source
Adults age 20+	40.3%	CDC Data Brief 508
Men	39.2%	CDC Data Brief 508
Women	41.3%	CDC Data Brief 508
Ages 20?39	35.5%	CDC Data Brief 508
Ages 40?59	46.4%	CDC Data Brief 508
Ages 60+	38.9%	CDC Data Brief 508

Severe obesity deserves separate attention

The same CDC brief reported severe obesity prevalence of 9.4% among adults age 20+ (CDC Data Brief 508). That is important because BMI statistics are often discussed as one number, but severe obesity has its own burden.

The age and sex breakdown showed:

9.5% among adults ages 20?39 (CDC Data Brief 508).
12.0% among adults ages 40?59 (CDC Data Brief 508).
6.6% among adults ages 60+ (CDC Data Brief 508).
6.7% in men age 20+ (CDC Data Brief 508).
12.1% in women age 20+ (CDC Data Brief 508).
6.1% in men ages 20?39 (CDC Data Brief 508).
9.2% in men ages 40?59 (CDC Data Brief 508).
4.3% in men ages 60+ (CDC Data Brief 508).
13.0% in women ages 20?39 (CDC Data Brief 508).
14.7% in women ages 40?59 (CDC Data Brief 508).
8.4% in women ages 60+ (CDC Data Brief 508).

U.S. trend over time

CDC Data Brief 508 shows a steady climb in age-adjusted obesity prevalence:

37.7% in 2013?2014 (CDC Data Brief 508).
39.6% in 2015?2016 (CDC Data Brief 508).
41.9% in 2017?2020 (CDC Data Brief 508).
40.3% in 2021?2023 (CDC Data Brief 508).

Severe obesity also rose across the same periods:

7.7% in 2013?2014 (CDC Data Brief 508).
7.7% in 2015?2016 (CDC Data Brief 508).
9.2% in 2017?2020 (CDC Data Brief 508).
9.7% in 2021?2023 (CDC Data Brief 508).

That pattern matters because it shows not only a higher obesity baseline, but also an expanding severe-obesity tier.

State and demographic patterns

CDC Adult Obesity Facts gives another layer of detail by race, age, education, and geography.

Demographic differences in U.S. adults

49.9% of non-Hispanic Black adults had obesity in 2017?March 2020 (CDC Adult Obesity Facts).
45.6% of Hispanic adults had obesity in 2017?March 2020 (CDC Adult Obesity Facts).
41.4% of non-Hispanic White adults had obesity in 2017?March 2020 (CDC Adult Obesity Facts).
16.1% of non-Hispanic Asian adults had obesity in 2017?March 2020 (CDC Adult Obesity Facts).

The age pattern in that same CDC source was also tight:

39.8% among U.S. adults ages 20?39 (CDC Adult Obesity Facts).
44.3% among U.S. adults ages 40?59 (CDC Adult Obesity Facts).
41.5% among U.S. adults ages 60+ (CDC Adult Obesity Facts).

Education also lined up with a clear gradient in the 2024 CDC maps:

37.6% of adults without a high school diploma or equivalent had obesity (CDC Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps).
35.4% of adults with a high school diploma or equivalent had obesity (CDC Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps).
35.7% of adults with some college education had obesity (CDC Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps).
27.3% of college graduates had obesity (CDC Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps).

Geographic pattern in the U.S.

The CDC said all U.S. states and territories had obesity prevalence of at least 25% in 2024 (CDC Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps). That alone shows the problem is national rather than isolated.

Regional prevalence in 2024 was reported as:

35.9% in the Midwest (CDC Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps).
34.5% in the South (CDC Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps).
30.2% in the West (CDC Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps).
30.3% in the Northeast (CDC Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps).

The state-bucket breakdown is also useful:

CDC 2024 category	Count	Source
25% to less than 30%	8 states and DC	CDC Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps
30% to less than 35%	22 states	CDC Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps
35% to less than 40%	17 states, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands	CDC Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps
40% or greater	Mississippi, West Virginia, and Guam	CDC Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps

The same CDC map source also showed that obesity prevalence can remain high across age and racial groups in many geographies:

No U.S. geographic area had obesity prevalence of 35% or higher for non-Hispanic Asian adults in 2022?2024 (CDC Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps).
17 geographic areas had obesity prevalence of 35% or higher for non-Hispanic White adults (CDC Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps).
33 geographic areas had obesity prevalence of 35% or higher for Hispanic adults (CDC Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps).
36 geographic areas had obesity prevalence of 35% or higher for non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native adults (CDC Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps).
41 geographic areas had obesity prevalence of 35% or higher for non-Hispanic Black adults (CDC Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps).

What the U.S. split suggests

BMI-linked obesity is widespread enough that no state or territory falls below public-health relevance.
The biggest differences show up by age, race and ethnicity, and education.
The severe-obesity numbers are high enough to matter separately from overall obesity prevalence.
The national average hides meaningful variation across groups and places.

OECD and international comparison

The OECD data make it easier to compare the U.S. pattern with other high-income countries.

The OECD reported that, on average across 32 OECD countries, 54% of adults were overweight or obese in 2021 (OECD obesity topic page). It also reported 18% of adults were obese across 32 OECD countries in 2021 (OECD obesity topic page).

That means overweight-or-obesity is the majority condition across the OECD average. The obesity-only figure is lower than the combined rate, but still substantial.

International comparison points

The OECD reported a 19?20 percentage point gender gap in Luxembourg, Germany, and Czechia for overweight or obesity prevalence (OECD obesity topic page).
The OECD estimated annual healthcare cost was USD 209 PPP per capita higher due to overweight or obesity (OECD obesity topic page).
The OECD estimated 8.4% of the entire health budget is spent on treating consequences of unhealthy weight on average (OECD obesity topic page).
The OECD estimated a return of up to 6 US dollars for every US dollar invested in obesity prevention (OECD obesity topic page).

Why the OECD numbers matter

These estimates shift the discussion from prevalence alone to financial and policy impact.

Prevalence tells you how common the issue is.
Cost estimates tell you what it does to health systems.
Return-on-investment estimates tell you why prevention is not just a clinical issue but a budget issue.

Why the numbers matter

BMI statistics are often discussed as if they are just about weight categories, but the dataset tells a broader story.

Practical takeaways

Definitions shape the counts (CDC BMI page; WHO obesity fact sheet).
The global burden is already massive and still rising in important age groups (WHO obesity fact sheet).
The U.S. burden is high across adults overall and especially high in middle age (CDC Data Brief 508).
Education, race and ethnicity, and geography all map onto different prevalence levels (CDC Adult Obesity Facts; CDC Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps).
International comparisons show the issue is common across developed economies, not just one country (OECD obesity topic page).
The economic case for prevention is strong enough to stand on its own (OECD obesity topic page).

Reading the statistics carefully

A good BMI article should not flatten all the categories into one number. The data here show several layers that are easy to miss if you only look at a single headline rate:

Adult and child definitions differ.
Overweight and obesity are separate categories.
Severe obesity should be tracked independently.
Long-run trend lines can move differently from one age group to another.
National averages hide strong demographic differences.

The result is a statistics topic with real depth: BMI is a simple measure, but the statistics around it are not simple at all.