TOPLINE

In a global analysis of 196 countries and territories from 1990 to 2022, obesity prevalence increased substantially across all adult age groups. Older adults (≥50 years) saw the largest absolute increases, but younger adults (20-49 years) showed the fastest annual rate of increase — suggesting a widening obesogenic exposure earlier in life.

METHODOLOGY

• Previous global studies of obesity mostly grouped all adults together, leaving differences in obesity trends between early and later adulthood unclear.
• To fill this gap, researchers analyzed the prevalence of obesity in early adulthood (20-49 years of age) and later adulthood (50 years of age or older) across 196 countries and territories from 1990 to 2022, using a large global health dataset.
• The magnitude of change was calculated by comparing the 5-year average prevalence of obesity between the baseline (1990-1994) and endline (2018-2022) periods, and the rate of change was measured using the average annual percent change.
• The prevalence of obesity was compared across geographic regions, World Bank income groups (low-income, lower-middle income, upper-middle income, and high-income), and other metrics.

TAKEAWAY

• Globally, the median prevalence of obesity was higher in later adulthood than in early adulthood at both baseline and endline. Prevalence increased to more than twice the baseline value in most groups over this period — increasing from 9.4% to 19.7% in women and from 5.5% to 17.2% in men in early adulthood and from 19.6% to 33.7% in women and from 9.0% to 22.4% in men in later adulthood.
• The prevalence of obesity increased by a larger amount in later adulthood than in early adulthood — 14.5% vs 10.8% in women and 11.8% vs 10.1% in men — but obesity prevalence increased more rapidly each year in early adulthood, with an average annual increase of 3.2% vs 2.4% in women and 4.2% vs 3.7% in men.
• Across income groups, upper-middle-income countries saw the largest increases in the prevalence of obesity among women in both age groups, whereas upper-middle- and high-income countries saw the largest increases among men.
• The prevalence of obesity increased most rapidly in low-income and lower-middle-income countries.

IN PRACTICE

"Although obesity prevention and intervention can benefit adults at any age, it can be especially important in early adulthood, when dietary and physical activity routines are being established and weight gain can be relatively rapid," the authors wrote.

"Strategies on reducing obesity and limiting downstream diseases include strengthening clinical and community weight management services, improving access to healthy foods for lower-income groups, creating physical activity-friendly built environments, and continuing regulatory measures that reduce intake of processed products high in sugar," they added.

SOURCE

The study was led by Abdiwahab M. Ali, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taipei, Taiwan. It was published online in Obesity.

LIMITATIONS

The study used pooled survey data with different measurement methods and uneven country coverage over time. The dataset applied the standard World Health Organization definition of obesity to every country, even though some Asian countries use lower BMI cutoffs. BMI may not fully reflect body composition or metabolic health.

DISCLOSURES

No specific funding was reported. The authors reported no relevant conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.