Fast Facts

In 2016, 650 million adults worldwide were obese.
More people have obesity than overweight in every region worldwide except sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
Data collected from 2017 through 2019 showed that in the United States, the prevalence of self-reported obesity was highest in non-Hispanic Black adults (39.8%), followed by Hispanic (33.8%) and non-Hispanic white adults (29.9%).
According to research published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, adults with a higher education were less likely to have obesity compared with those who had less education.
The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was $147 billion in 2008, $1,429 more than those with a healthy weight.
People with obesity are at a higher risk for COVID-19 than those with a healthy weight.
Having obesity may triple the risk for being hospitalized from COVID-19.
From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic though mid-November 2020, 30.2% of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the United States were attributed to obesity.
Obesity increases the risk for a variety of conditions, including coronary heart disease, high BP, type 2 diabetes, stroke, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea, many different cancers and osteoarthritis.
Since 1975, the amount of people with obesity worldwide has almost tripled.

References:

CDC. Adult Obesity Causes & Consequences. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/causes.html. Accessed June 14, 2021.

CDC. Adult Obesity Facts. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html. Accessed on June 14, 2021.

CDC. Obesity, Race/Ethnicity, and COVID-19. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/obesity-and-covid-19.html. Accessed on June 14, 2021.

WHO. Obesity. Available at: https://www.who.int/health-topics/obesity#tab=tab_1. Accessed on June 14, 2021.

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