Obesity has risen in all countries — but at a faster pace in poorer ones

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13 May 2026 Obesity has risen in all countries — but at a faster pace in poorer ones Trajectories of obesity prevalence over the past 45 years reveal patterns of growth, plateau and decline that differ across high-, middle- and low-income countries. By Boyd Swinburn 0 Boyd Swinburn Boyd Swinburn is in the School of Population Health, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand. View author publications PubMed Google Scholar

Obesity is a pandemic, meaning that its prevalence has been increasing in almost every country over the past few decades. As might be expected, some countries experienced this rise earlier than others; in some, the increase has been rapid, and in others, slow; and the obesity rate is flattening in certain countries while accelerating in others. Writing in Nature, the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC) group1 has mapped obesity trajectories between 1980 and 2024 for 200 countries and territories.

Nature 653, 353-354 (2026)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-00909-x

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Competing Interests The author declares no competing interests.

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