Obesity: international data
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development publish comparable statistics on health and health systems across OECD countries, derived from a database including more than 1200 indicators on the health care systems of the OECD member countries. Levels of obesity, as defined by BMI, are included as one of these indicators. The database can be accessed on the OECD website though subscription is required for full access.
Estimates of male and female obesity prevalence across OECD countries, up to 2008, are shown in Charts 1 and 2. For comparative purposes, UK data, derived from the most current health surveys in England, N. Ireland, Scotland and Wales, is also shown.
- USA has the highest proportions of obese men and women among OECD countries
- Male and female obesity levels in Scotland, are the second highest among OECD countries
These estimates relate to the adult population (normally the population aged 15+) and are based on national health interview surveys. Some countries rely on self reports of actual weight whilst for others (eg, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States), estimates are based on the actual measurement of weight and height. This difference in survey methodologies limits data comparability, as estimates arising from the actual measurement of weight and height are significantly higher than those based on self-report (Dauphinot et al 2009). Further information on obesity (and overweight) prevalence in OECD countries is available from OECD health data 2009.
Please note: If you require the most up-to-date data available, please check the data sources directly as new data may have been published since these data pages were last updated. Although we endeavour to ensure that the data pages are kept up-to-date, there may be a time lag between new data being published and the relevant ScotPHO web pages being updated.
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